Affiliate Blog

I just posted to my Webmaster Blog about the sale of vBulletin to Internet Brands.

I'm not looking to double post on this topic, so I'll just direct you to the post … Webmaster Blog.

You know back in January there were rumors afoot that Matt Cutts was inimating that he might be ready to try something different. Something other than being the poster boy of Google and the search engine optimization (SEO) community.

I was this quote from Matt's blog that raised the eyebrows…

"I love working at Google, but at some point my wife is going to wake up and smell the coffee. She’ll say 'Hey, we agreed we’d try this Google thing for four or five years, and then I’d get to pick what to do next. It’s been like eight years now! When do we move on to our next adventure?'"

But it's a month later and I haven't heard any more on this topic, and that's a good thing. Matt Cutts is all about ethical SEO methods, and he tries to make sure that search engine spammers aren't the ones getting the good results in Google. Although Matt and the BlackHat community hold a mutual respect for each other I think … at least, it seems that way to me.

Matt works for the quality group of Google, specializing in SEO issues. He is one of the co-inventors listed upon one of the most well-known patent filings from Google: "Information retrieval based on historical data". He wrote SafeSearch, Google's family filter. He was the first to publicly propose to use historical web site information to identify link spam.

Matt Cutt's blog is the semi-offical source for upcoming Google ranking updates. So, many of us are glad Matt's around to answer questions and give guidance. It's nice to have a guy who knows what he's talking about at the keyboard.

Search Engine Strategies returns to New York for its 8th year! The industry converges for a week of spirited discussion, high-level learning and attendees leave with actionable battle plans to go forward with for their companies. For SES Alumni, there will be so much new content and developments that you'll need to stay on top of and should consider bringing your whole team!

Event Overview

• Delivers real-time actionable information you need to grow your business through search engine marketing;
• Teaches the ins-and-outs of search engine marketing from top search experts and the search engines themselves;
• Provides a unique setting to network with fellow marketers and search engine industry professionals and discuss the trends in search engine marketing;
• Grants access to the world's most comprehensive gathering of search engine marketing & optimization-related solutions providers and potential partners & affiliates.

What You Will Learn

• How search engines list web sites for free and through paid placements;
• How to get free "organic" traffic by building a site that pleases search engines and your visitors;
• How to efficiently purchase listings guaranteed to rank your company at the top of search engine results;
• How to calculate the roi of your search marketing efforts by tracking your visitors from the time they hit your site until they buy—and get tips on improving conversion if they don't!
• How to build links that generate traffic to your web site, and how to avoid the penalties of "spamming" the search engines;
• What's coming next in the constantly evolving world of web search, and how you can profit from those changes.

SES New York  | April 10-13, 2007  |  Hilton New York

Search Marketing Expo - SMX
Inaugural Event: SMX Seattle, June 4th & 5th, 2007

I SO want to go to this! Anything with Danny Sullivan involved is going to be hot!

Search Marketing Expo — SMX — is the new search engine marketing conference from Third Door Media, the company behind the Search Engine Land news site and the Search Marketing Now webcast series.

Programmed by search expert Danny Sullivan, the inaugural SMX show on June 4 & 5 will be especially geared toward advanced search marketers who want to hear about the latest search marketing techniques for both organic and paid placement.

And if having Danny Sullivan involved isn’t cool enough, the first SMX will be held in Seattle at the extraordinary Bell Harbor Convention Center on Pier 66. Bell Harbor features state of the art convention facilities in an exceptional indoor and outdoor atmosphere. If you haven’t been to Seattle, it’s absolutely beautiful there.

For now, they’re taking sign-ups for the email list. So, go drop in your email so you can be notified when the registration opens. Search Marketing Expo - SMX

I received a challenge, a paid challenge no less, from TollFreeNumbers.com to try out their services and review their website on our blog. I don’t normally take up such challenges, but they gave us a free toll free number too and well, when they said they’d backlink back to the Affiliate Guild … that’s too good to pass up.TollFreeNumbers.com finds businesses Toll Free 800 Numbers and even tries to find them numbers that spell out words.My challenge was to find myself an 800 number using their online lookup tools system and then, activate it.Toll Free numbers valid in the U.S. and Canada onlyIn using the TollFreeNumbers lookup tool, I found it to be easy to use and quick to respond (I’m on DSL). After the first four attempts to find a phone number, it prompted me to email me some other possibilities for the names I’d chosen.