Sorezki Linkr Review
UPDATE 10-16-12: Dana Raam at Sorezki has contacted me with some notes about our review. Read what she had to say after the jump.
I can’t remember exactly where I found out about Sorezki Linkr, but at first blush it seemed like the ideal tool for a small SEO firm like ours. Promising to place “high quality” links using professional link builders, Linkr appeared to be a great tool for expanding our throughput.
A review of Sorezki's Linkr, a manual link building service
Unfortunately, my first impression was as good as it got. Here’s what I ordered, what Linkr gave me, and why I think this product is a bad deal. Read More
My Standard Worpdress Troubleshooting Process
I keep reading that WordPress is the most popular content management system (CMS) in the world, and while that stat isn’t too important by itself, it means that there are a very large number of plugins, code snippets, etc. available.
Of course, with all these different plugins and code tweaks there are compatibility issues…and most of the biggest WordPress problems we see related to compatibility. Here’s how we diagnose WordPress issues as well as some useful links. Read More
Why Buying Links Is Dangerous, and Poorly Targeted Link Buying Emails Are Stupid
I have a bad attitude about low quality SEO. I view it as one of the lowest forms of human behavior, mostly because I see this activity as undermining my profession. Therefore, I tend to respond to link buying requests pretty forcefully. A recent request sparked my interest, however, because it looks like something an SEO rookie might try and do. In an effort to help this person improve her process, I’m going to share her request with you, some pointers, and then my response.
Here’s the email I received:
Good Morning, We’ve recently reviewed your blog site http://www.tundraheadquarters.com/blog/ and believe that your readers and visitors might be a possible advertising venue for us. Basically, we are potentially interested in a 250-500 word written article about our site, with a link using one of our keywords, posted on your main page permanently. Would you be willing to write the article about our site? We are willing to pay $25 for a 250 – 500 word article. Please let me know if this works for you.
We are serious buyers and we can pay via PayPal.
This is the site we are promoting: (link to site that sells motorcycle parts)
Thank you for your time and consideration,
Christine (last name redacted)
What follows of what this person did well and what they could have done much, much better. Read More
Lightbox 2 Script Tip – Images Appearing Outside of Visible Window Area?
If you’re using the Lightbox 2 javascript library and you’re finding that your images aren’t showing up in the visible area of the window – instead showing up below the portion of the page you’re viewing – then the problem might be that you haven’t declared a DOCTYPE. Read More
20 Example Questions for the AdWords Exam
This post is written by Soo Dawson, a key member of the Spork Marketing team.
I recently passed the Adwords Fundamentals & Advanced Search Advertising exams and became an AdWords Qualified professional. As I studied, I kept meticulous notes and categorized questions to fall in two categories – factual vs. applied. You’ll find an even mix on both the Adwords Fundamentals and Adwords Advanced Search Advertising Exams.
Note that these are not real exam questions but similar to what you’ll find on both Adwords exams. All questions on the actual exams are multiple choice and you need to choose from four – no exceptions. Commas separate answer choices below– see if you can identify the correct answers or search for the correct answer to the questions. It may also help you to check out this in-depth article on three tools I used to pass the Adwords exams. Read More
3 AdWords Exam Studying Tools
This post is written by Soo Dawson, a key member of the Spork Marketing team.
There are a slew of articles on “How to pass the AdWords Exam” (including one that was published on this blog last week), but this article outlines three specific and recommended tools I used to pass the AdWords Fundamentals exam (95% the first try) and AdWords Advanced Search exam (93% the first try). I only had two weeks to study and spent roughly 40 hours setting up tools, using them, and studying to pass both exams.
The tools are:
- The actual AdWords account
- The AdWords learning center
- iPassexam
I don’t think I could have passed on my first try without all three of these tools working together for me, and I’ll explain why below. Read More
How to Pass the Adwords Exam in 2012
This post is written by Soo Dawson, a key member of the Spork Marketing team.
Based on my personal and professional goals, passing the Adwords Exam to become qualified became a need, not a want around late June of 2012. To gain credibility with those I worked with and for my own benefit, I decided to become qualified by taking the Adwords fundamentals exam and then taking the search advertising advanced exam. I only had two weeks to study and a limited amount of time to devote to my studies. Here’s how I passed the Adwords exams on my first try and became an Adwords Qualified professional. Read More
Spork Website Changes Coming
As you may have noticed, I haven’t been blogging much lately. While some of this can be blamed on the birth of my first child Maggie (who is super cute, btw), it’s also because I’m diligently working on a new version of the Spork Marketing website that I will launch by the end of the month.
The new version of the site will feature a simplified layout and an updated appearance (something sorely needed as the current design is 3+ years old now). If you have any suggestions, I’d love to hear them.
Thanks!
Jason
How Not to Request A Guest Blog Post – A Real Life Example
UPDATE: I was contacted by the company that sent the emails outlined below, and was informed that the person who contacted me was new. I was also offered a prompt apology. For that reason, I have removed the references to the individual and the company he works for from the post.
The following article is two parts: The first part is the story of how someone working on behalf of a well-known university went out of his way to insult and annoy me in the course of requesting I publish a guest post. The second part is the free marketing advice.
If you’re not interested in the story (and I don’t blame you if you’re not), feel free to skip to the marketing advice in the “What We Can Learn From This Story” section. Read More
Mobile Devices Are The Future – Desktop PCs Sliding into Third Place
Have you ever sent or received a fax? Me too. About a thousand times I think. Back in the days before email, the fax was the best way to send a document. As late as 2006, I was sending and receiving faxes as part of my job at the car dealership. Despite the fact that everyone had email accounts at that time, our business was still sending and receiving faxes regarding vehicle financing, vendor payments, etc.
Even today, five years later, there are still people using the fax machine daily. It’s an established form of business communication, and despite the rise of email, the fax hasn’t disappeared.
Yet clearly, the days of the fax machine are dwindling. At some point, they will disappear. It’s inevitable.
I talk about the fax machine because I think it illustrates the manner in which desktop PCs will decline. Eventually, they will be overtaken by mobile devices, a.k.a. smart phones and tablets.
Here’s why: Read More