13 Takeaways from HubSpot’s The Science of Timing Webinar #TimeSci

Posted By Jaime on Mar 29th, 2011

HubSpot hosted a great webinar today with social media expert Dan Zarella on The Science of Timing, a primer on best practices for timing your emails, social media updates, and blog posts.  Dan has been conducting timing-based research over the past two years and compiled his knowledge into a wealth of tips and takeaways for marketers with questions like “When’s the best time to send that email?” and much more.

Here are some of the most useful takeaways we heard:

Twitter & Facebook Timing Tips

Retweet activity is heaviest between 2 – 5 PM (EST). Tweet later in the day and later in the week for best results.Saturdays and Sundays are amongst the highest days for Twitter click-through rate (CTR).@DanZarella says: “Don’t be afraid to tweet too much!” If anything, tweet MORE!“Don’t crowd your content; give your links some breathing room. If you post a link on Twitter, let it marinate before tweeting again.Weekends are the best time for sharing things on Facebook.For marketing purposes, there is very little difference between a B2B consumer and a B2C consumer when it comes to timing of social media communications.

Email Timing Tips

Email open rates AND bounce rates tend to be higher on the weekends because people are able to give more attention to emails then.Best email practice:  send email blasts early in the morning to take advantage of contra-competitive timing. (Contra-competitive timing = when you go against the grain of crowd timing to have more of a chance to be heard and get your content noticed.)The newer a subscriber is to your to your email list, the more likely they are to open your emails and click on the links.

Blog Timing Tips

Blog post pageviews are highest on Mondays.Posting a blog on the weekend is your best bet for getting the most amount of comments.Blog posts published early, between 6 – 7 AM (EST), tend to get the most links because of the linkerati’s ravenous material-sourcing habits.Blog more frequently!  There is very little benefit to blogging infrequently.

Want to read more timing tips?  Follow the #TimeSci hashtag on Twitter to follow along with the conversation.

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“All These Keywords in my AdWords Campaign Can’t Be Hurting, Can They?” WRONG! They Can!

Posted By WebAdvantage.net on Mar 18th, 2011

When managing an AdWords campaign, one of the most common mistakes people make is piling on too many keywords.  Their assumption—that more keywords equals more chances for their ad to be shown and get clicked—seems like a logical one.  However, what they fail to realize is that having too many keywords is most likely dragging their Quality Score down.

These so-called “bad keywords” are easy to spot in your AdWords campaigns by checking the Status column:

The quality and relevance of your keywords and ads are the most important factors in your campaign’s ranking and performance.  An individual keyword’s Quality Score is determined by its click-through rate (CTR), relevance to its Ad Group, historical performance, and other relevancy factors.  Therefore, the higher the Quality Score of your keywords, the less you pay for each click on your ad.

In this light, you can think of your Google AdWords campaign as an equation with the Quality Score being the most important part:

Google’s Quality Score is intended to ensure search users that they will find the information they are looking for quickly and easily by showing only those ads which are most relevant to their search queries.

Here’s the official explanation on Quality Scores from Google:

The AdWords system calculates a Quality Score for each of your keywords. It looks at a variety of factors to measure how relevant your keyword is to your ad text and to a user’s search query. A keyword’s Quality Score updates frequently and is closely related to its performance. In general, a high Quality Score means that your keyword will trigger ads in a higher position and at a lower cost-per-click (CPC).

A Quality Score is calculated every time your keyword matches a search query — that is, every time your keyword has the potential to trigger an ad. Quality Score is used in several different ways, including:

Google recommends that accounts are best organized in the following way:

One campaignSeveral tightly themed ad groups10-35 relevant keywords per ad group2-3 relevant ads per ad group

The best way to improve your keywords’ quality scores is by optimizing your account.  Here are some specific things that you can do:

Make sure that each keyword in each ad group closely relates to the ad(s) and the landing page.Don’t use broad or general keywords since they tend to generate many impressions but very few clicks.Strive to optimize keywords with a low CTR.Vary the match types.Use keywords made up of two or three words.Include relevant variations (plural, singular, synonyms, misspellings, etc.).Get rid of low search volume keywords unless they are: A new productA competitor’s termSeasonalEvent-based keywords

P.S.  If you need help optimizing your AdWords campaigns for higher Google Quality Scores, we offer a full suite of PPC Campaign Management services.  Give us a call at (410) 942-0488 or submit an RFP to learn how we can help.

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10 Twitter Tips for Startups and Challenger Brands

Posted By WebAdvantage.net on Mar 11th, 2011

With over 190 million users tweeting 65 million times a day, Twitter presents emerging brands with a ton of great opportunities for word of mouth marketing, networking, and brand-building.

Here are 10 tips for startups and challenger brands who are just starting out on Twitter:

Claim @YourBrandName ASAP! First things first—make sure you claim your brand name as your Twitter handle, even if you don’t intend to start using Twitter immediately.  It seems simple enough to do, but many new or upcoming brands that put it off too long run the risk of being name-squatted.  Even big, leading brands have fallen prey to Twitter squatters.  Has your desired Twitter handle already been claimed? Spend some time thinking of a good alternative that fits as closely as possible.  Make sure it’s not a total departure from your actual brand name, to avoid confusion and loss of  brand identity.Take full advantage of Twitter’s design and profile settings. Even though Twitter’s built-in design and profile settings are pretty basic, a surprising number of companies don’t take the time to customize or even complete them.  Lesser-known brands who are trying to establish themselves on Twitter should make every effort to brand their profile design by customizing the background image and color settings.  Here are 50 great examples of corporate Twitter branding for ideas.  This is your chance to really get creative with how you want to be perceived.Don’t over-invest in Twitter tools. You don’t have to invest a lot of money in state-of-the-art Twitter tools in order to be successful.  There are tons of great, free or low-cost Twitter tools out there to accomplish practically any Twitter-related task.  Large, well-established brands typically have a different set of goals and challenges for using Twitter versus that of a lesser-known brand who is just starting out, and they often invest in robust social media monitoring and tracking tools, and expensive account management platforms without a real need for doing so.Make your brand stand out. Challenger brands must work hard to distinguish themselves from the pack, which is something that can be hard to do with only 140 characters at a time to work with.   Finding your brand’s unique voice on Twitter will most likely take time, creativity, and a bit of trial and error.  Produce your own original content that promotes your brand while still being engaging and relevant to your followers without being too “salespitchy.”Practice proper care and feeding.  Smaller brands typically have much less time and resources to devote to social media compared to large brands, but it’s important for them to develop good “care and feeding” habits in order to use Twitter effectively.  If your Twitter isn’t updated on at least a semi-regular basis, your followers will most likely begin to drop off.  There are no rules for how often a brand should tweet, but it’s a good idea to set daily or weekly tweet goals to keep the momentum going.  And don’t forget to @reply and follow people back on a regular basis, too.Learn from your competitors. Brands can learn a lot simply by looking at what their competitors are doing on Twitter and learning from their examples (and mistakes).  Study the ways that leading brands are using Twitter, from the conversations they’re having with their followers to the types of content they’re sharing. What successful things are they doing that you can emulate in your own tweets?  What can you do better?Make sure you’ve “got the goods” beyond Twitter, too. Twitter can be an amazing marketing tool for building your brand, but it’s important to remember that it’s just one layer of communication, and there are a lot of other brands out there vying for attention.  Make sure your website, blog, and any other online presence are as polished and pitch-perfect as they can be without misleading information or untrustworthy content.  And of course, your followers will appreciate openness and honesty in your tweets, too.Cultivate a loyal following. Market segmentation is a good starting point to determine where a challenger brand can have the most impact.  On Twitter, brands cultivate a relevant and loyal following by seeking out niche groups of  users (using tools like Twitter Lists and Twibes) and engaging with them in a meaningful way.   It’s easy to get distracted by statistics like follower counts, but don’t worry so much about the numbers; rather, it’s the quality of the people and connections that really count.Be the people’s champion. On Twitter, Brands have a unique opportunity to connect one-on-one with customers and learn what makes them tick.  Twitter is invaluable as a listening tool to understand their interests, motivations and pain points.  Use Twitter as your brand’s soapbox to rally support and excitement, address their issues and concerns, (and occasionally swoop in and save the day!).Spice things up. To keep followers interested and engaged, focus on sharing content that is tweet-worthy in some way: things that are cool, interesting, useful, news-worthy, etc.  Spice up your tweets with tweet-enhancing tools like Twtapps, Twitpic, hashtags and shortened links. Tweet content is your chance to really set yourself apart.

Now get out there and knock ‘em dead!

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Twitter, Facebook, Groupon, and Social Media – What Online Advertisers Need to Know

Posted By Jaime on Apr 12th, 2011

This article by Hollis Thomases originally appeared in ClickZ on April 5, 2011.

Did I get your attention? Of course I did…and that’s my point. Today, social media topics attract advertisers’ attention like bright shiny objects to a fault. By my own observations, because they do capture so much attention, almost any headline containing the words Twitter, Facebook, Groupon, or social media gets clicked, shared, forwarded, and tweeted five times more than other digital advertising or marketing-related headlines, oftentimes without the article even ever being read. In fact, I confess to writing this headline as an experiment, just to prove my point.

Is this all so bad? Isn’t social media a way for brands to connect individually with their consumers in ways they never have before? Heck, didn’t I write a book on the subject?!

Are You Focused On Your Goals?

My concern lies in the ability for advertisers to focus on the kinds of online tactics that will help them reach their goals. When advertisers (and key decision-makers, quite frankly) get too distracted from proven tactics or develop unrealistic or untenable perceptions, it does them no lasting good. For example, last week at the Search Engine Strategies New York Conference, I spoke about expanding beyond pay-per-click search advertising and into display advertising. The room was about half full. The timeslot before this session, I spoke on another panel about Twitter, and the room was almost completely full. Yet, while many companies have successfully leveraged search and display to generate direct and measurable revenue, those doing so through Twitter are fewer and farther between.

Furthermore, I found it interesting that of those audience members in my “Leap from Search to Display” session, by a show of hands, only about half had even ventured outside of Google AdWords and into the Google Display Network, let alone into other forms of online media buying. I had to ask myself how many of these people, however, were also busying themselves setting up and populating Facebook pages or Twitter accounts before they ever even leveraged their search advertising successes? And when I asked the audience how many knew of ways to serve online ads besides through the direct serving of traditional banners and buttons, scarcely a half-dozen hands went up (by my count, there are at least 13 other types of ads or ways for these ads to be served).

While I’ll be the last person to dispute that social media and its respective platforms have merit, I find myself constantly reminding marketers that social media is just another tool in the toolkit. You should take out this tool if it’s the best tool to help you build or fix something, but if a wrench can do a better/faster/less expensive job, why use a hammer? And if you’re going to venture into the sun-shiny terrain of social media marketing, don’t go in with blinders on.

Reality Check

I’m a two-sides-to-every-story kind of girl, so I don’t want to paint a completely bleak picture. I formulate my opinions and recommendations by doing a lot of reading, listening, and observation (my parents are happy I’m putting my anthropology-sociology-social psychology college degree to good use). For example:

I recently overheard an advertiser saying that Facebook Ads worked better than PPC for them to reach their more affluent audience. This made sense to me, and Merry Morud wrote a great article on this for ClickZ’s sister site, Search Engine Watch.A Harris Interactive-RightNow post-holiday 2010 report found social media could create brand advocates – two-thirds of the 85 percent of customers who posted a negative review of a shopping experience and were then contacted by the retailer wound up taking a positive action through social media that directly negated their original negative posting.B2B advertisers, according to new research from Forrester, might not believe in online display advertising’s effectiveness, but I say they might find great success in LinkedIn Ads. (Forrester’s research also points out that B2B advertisers cannot merely port over their true blue print media practices and expect them to work.)While manufacturing companies sometimes flounder to figure out how to leverage Facebook and Twitter, they forget that video demonstrations of their products are a YouTube must-do.Though many local businesses have found success with Groupon and their imitators, others claim to lose money (Rice University Graduate School of Management study) or customer loyalty (New York Times Blog). Know what to expect before you dive in.

So you can see that social media definitely has its place in the overall marketing strategy. I just encourage advertisers not to fall prey to all the hype and dig a little deeper to understand the facts and what’s appropriate for their particular business, industry, and short- and long-term goals.

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Video: Wall goes off the floor to Griffin for the alley-oop

The NBA's Rookie/Sophomore Game is usually a mess of flubbed passes with a complete and utter lack of defense. It can get dull for viewers at times, but then every so often someone pulls off a play you've never seen in your life, like Jason Williams's elbow pass from 2000.

Tonight, John Wall(notes) and Blake Griffin(notes) connected for such a moment, one that's now the current frontrunner for the top highlight of the weekend: a bounce-pass alley-oop from Wall that Griffin finished with an emphatic reverse. Minds were blown and hearts were attacked.

It's really the perfect basketball play to unite fans of all types. Purists can appreciate the artful simplicity of a well-played bounce pass, and anyone under the age of 75 can appreciate all the other awesome parts. Everyone wins!

(Original video via @jose3030)

Related: John Wall, Blake Griffin

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At least Nebraska now has basketball bragging rights on Texas

For a school that derives as much of its identity from football as Nebraska, beating a rival in basketball can never fully avenge a humbling gridiron loss.

Nonetheless, Saturday's stunning 70-67 victory over No. 3 Texas will at least provide revenge-minded Huskers fans a day or two of satisfaction.

Four months after the worst Texas football team in more than a decade still managed to upset Nebraska in Lincoln in what could be final meeting between the two teams, the Huskers finally earned some bragging rights over the Longhorns. They squandered a late 11-point lead lead in less than a minute yet never let Texas to regain control, thwarting the Longhorns' bid to take over the top spot in the AP Top 25 and edging closer to the fringes of the NCAA tournament picture.

It wasn't just defeating a top-five opponent that made Saturday's victory Nebraska's most satisfying of the season. Huskers fans consider Texas perhaps their most hated rival because of the Longhorns' controversial Big 12 title game victory over Nebraska in 2009 and the perception that schools from the Lone Star state have received preferential treatment from the league. 

Before their football game against Texas last October, Huskers fans printed T-shirts that read "Beat Texas" or "It's BBQ time" in hopes that the Big Red could end an 11-year drought against the Longhorns. Some of those same T-shirts were on display Saturday afternoon as Nebraska students stormed the court in celebration of their second basketball victory over a highly ranked Texas team in three years.

The season-long ramifications of the victory for Nebraska could be significant if the Huskers finish strong.

In defeating a Texas team that had won its first 11 conference games by nine points or more, Nebraska notched its third straight victory to improve to 18-8 overall and 6-6 in Big 12 play. The Huskers accomplished little of note in non-league play, yet they're now in contention for an-large bid with home games against Kansas State and Missouri left in addition to winnable road matchups against Iowa State and Colorado. 

It looked as though the Huskers would easily turn back Texas before a frantic late rally nearly resulted in heartbreak for the home team.

Jordan Hamilton was fouled on a 3-pointer and sank all three free throws to make it an eight-point game with 1:41 to go. Two Nebraska missed free throws and a Hamilton 3-pointer trimmed the lead to five just eight seconds later. By the time Nebraska surrendered a putback of a missed free throw for a layup and then two free throws after throwing away the ensuing inbound pass, the score was tied at 65 with 1:05 still left to play.

Nebraska somehow managed to regain its composure, regaining the lead on a pair of free throws from Brandon Richardson and then getting a much-needed defensive stop. Hamilton missed a go-ahead 3-pointer and J'Covan Brown missed one that could have tied it at the buzzer, sealing Nebraska's first win over a top-three opponent since a victory over Missouri in the 1994 Big Eight tournament.

As good a win as that one was, this may have been even sweeter.

Related: Texas Longhorns

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Puck Headlines: Patrick Kane's 'hangover'; Jovanovski out for weeks

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Tools for Competitive Intelligence Session – PubCon 2010

A quick recap of content from a competitive analysis session of PubCon 2010 with Matt Siltala, Michael Streko, Michael Gray, and Andy Beal.

Matt Siltala

Things to identify about the competition:

Hubs. Check PRWeb search, Digg, or article site search to see what’s being said about your competition, what they’re doing, and even which keywords they’re going after. You can make a spreadsheet of keywords that are being targeted by your competitors. Check local review sites to see which specials are being offered.

Tools. Use AuthorityLabs to put competitors side by side with keywords and identify areas to attack.

Social Media. You can use Social Media For Firefox plugin, Knowem, Who’s Talkin, Twitter Search/Lists, Image Search, SEO For Firefox plugin to identify.

Do “link:www.competitor.com” together with the Social Media For Firefox plugin  to identify the best content.

Identify competitor keywords. What your competitors may be using may be converting better than your keywords. Test with Adsense. Make sure you’ve got enough good content on your site around your competitors’ keywords.

Michael Streko

Ways to find the “Next Move” of the company you’re looking at:

Search their code.Check out their Robots.txt. You could find a test site, pictures, a new product or domain, etc.Google search for possible partners.Check http://dotheyfolloweachother.com to see who people in your competitors’ organization are close to.Follow their company on LinkedIn.com Fan the Facebook page. If someone leaves, call them right away and find out why.Know Who Links To ThemRead their content, don’t be afraid to email a site linking to a page that has out-of-date content and request a new link to your better version of content. Use incompetence to your advantage.Become an affiliate of your competitors’ sites, find out “earnings per click” to get a good idea of traffic.Non-Internet Bonus Tactic: call your competitor and walk through the process.

Michael Gray

Using Blekk0.com – use “/adsense=XXXXXXXX” with the Adsense code or analytics code and get a list of competitor sites.Use Tineye.com to see where an individual has other profiles and whether they are legitimate.Quarkbase will show popularity of content.Use a Google search for “submitted on” OR “submitted by” OR “discovered by” OR “posted by” to determine which content is being submitted and by whom. Identify the pattern of content “sneezers” when new content is being promoted/submitted. Try to get into the circle. TwitterCircles.com will help you identify who competitors are connecting with.

Andy Beal

Look for customer rants. Poach clients, promote your alternative, improve your own products and services to avoid these same issues.Look for any negativity coming from competitor employees or clients. Blow on the spark that lights the fuse.Use Twitter. Use custom parameters at search.twitter.com and set up competitive searches. If X employee talks to Y employee about Z keyword, track it. Export as RSS. Take advantage of private Twitter lists.DomainTools.com/Registrant-Alert/ and /Mark-Alert will let you spy on competitors to find out when they’re registering new domains.Oodle.com/job helps spy on job listings. Look up competitors’ name and create an RSS feed then aggregate multiple competitors.

Tags: Competitive Analysis, pubcon 2010

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Bourne Blog: As the playoffs draw closer, points stop being so easy

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Video: Cincinnati Cyclones spoof 'I'm On A Boat' for charity

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The Clown's Mouth: 'Vintage' Tiger Woods, Middle East golf

Rounding up a few of the week's stories that didn't quite merit the full-post treatment.

• Check out the LPGA's new ad campaign, featuring Natalie Gulbis signing in strange areas ...

• At the ACE Group Classic in Naples, Fla., John Cook reported that Tiger Woods' swing has finally "clicked," and that he should be back to his winning ways soon. We shall see, won't we? [Press Tent]

• In Thailand, Michelle Wie and Yani Tseng sit just one stroke behind In-Kyung Kim, who shot a record-tying 63 on Thursday but, unfortunately, was 10 strokes worse on Friday. [Golfweek]

• Great video here from Golf Digest's Dom Furore on golf in the Middle East. Well worth a watch for, as GD puts it, a "familiar game in an unfamiliar land." [Golf Digest]

• Donald Trump has offered his Trump National Club in Bedminster, N.J., as a potential U.S. Open backup site. (Also, be sure to listen to our interview with Trump right here on his new season of "Donald J. Trump's Fabulous World of Golf.") [Golfweek]

Got a link/tip? Hit us up on Twitter at @jaybusbee, on Facebook right here, or by email at jay.busbee@yahoo.com.

Related: John Cook, Tiger Woods

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Trucks start the wrecking early at Daytona Speedway

If you're the type who tunes into NASCAR races to see the wrecks, you got your money's worth Friday night at the truck race, with not just one, but two! Two! TWO Big Ones! Let's go to the videotape, first with Travis Kvapil setting off a 15-car debacle:

Then, with only a few laps remaining in the race, the gang was running three wide when ...

By the end of the race, only a half-dozen hadn't sustained damage, and two of those belonged to Elliott Sadler and eventual winner Michael Waltrip. If this holds up, expect to see some serious carnage come Sunday afternoon.

Related: Michael Waltrip, Elliott Sadler

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Ex-UNC star Rashad McCants reinvents himself as an actor

LostLettermen.com, the college sports online magazine and former player database, regularly contributes to The Dagger. Here's a look at the current whereabouts of former North Carolina star Rashad McCants. 

People have come to expect the unpredictable and outrageous from Rashad McCants.

This is the former college basketball star who once said being at North Carolina was like being in jail, who tattooed "Born To Be Hated" on one arm and "Dying To Be Loved" on the other, and who compared people understanding him to reading the Bible.

But even McCants' erratic past didn't prepare fans for the latest twist in his tumultuous career. Having washed out of the NBA as a result of concerns about his attitude and his ability to coexist with teammates, the 26-year-old former first-round draft pick is dabbling in acting and his first foray into the thespian arts is a doozy.

The above clip is from the pilot to a TV series called "The Booster Club," produced by McCants and starring him and former adult-film actress Traci Lords. Billed as a comedy series about a ring of professional booster thieves, the show is now being shopped around Hollywood in hopes of finding a network interested in airing it.

Whereas athletes-turned-actors like Rick Fox or Ray Allen have played variations of themselves, McCants raised some eyebrows shooting for something a bit more complex in his first role.

The blogosphere buzzed last month that McCants was playing a bi-sexual, cross-dressing leader of a shoplifting ring, but he insists that isn't exactly accurate. McCants said his character isn't bi-sexual or a cross-dresser, just a villain that's always doing the unexpected.

Although NBA coaches and executives quickly grew tired of his prickly demeanor, it's worked to his advantage in acting because people in Hollywood tell him he's intimidating.

"They like that about me, that I can play boss roles and gangster roles," McCants said.

McCants first began taking acting classes a couple years ago when he moved to Los Angeles to rehab an injury. He currently spends his time in Southern California training for basketball, auditioning for acting roles, and running his own production company, record label and management company.

If McCants' chances of becoming an entertainment mogul seem far-fetched, he's got at least one believer in Hollywood in Percy Miller, better known as rapper "Master P." McCants says Miller has represented him since last summer.

"This is as deep of a brotherhood as it gets when it comes to P and me and everything that we're doing," McCants said. "He actually helped me revamp my whole thinking of life and how to approach these situations when dealing with being excluded from everything. He's really helped me in that aspect."

It would have been difficult to imagine that McCants would already be out of basketball when he led North Carolina to a championship in 2005, but some of his attitude issues first cropped up in Chapel Hill.

There, McCants was labeled a pariah for butting heads with former coach Matt Doherty, for making the aforementioned jail comment and for the perception that he pouted and was aloof. A newspaper columnist even called him "borderline psychotic" in a radio interview.

Related: Blake Griffin's Top 10 college dunks 

One problem McCants never had there? Scoring. He led the Tar Heels in points per game his first two seasons and as a junior in 2005, McCants shot nearly 49 percent from the field and was the second-leading scorer on the team that defeated Illinois in the national title game.

Drafted 14th by the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2005, McCants didn't have a chance to make an immediate impact because he underwent microfracture surgery on his right knee. He bounced back in his third year, leading the team in scoring at almost 15 points per game.

Questions about McCants' me-first attitude cropped up again the following year when his shooting percentage plummeted and he was criticized for being a ball hog. He also made headlines on New Year's Eve 2009, when he flew to Las Vegas on an off day to visit then-girlfriend Khloe Kardashian, returning the following day in time for a noon practice.

By February, he was shipped to Sacramento. And when the Kings selected fellow shooting guard Tyreke Evans that summer in the 2009 NBA draft, McCants became an afterthought.

The last time McCants played professional basketball was last December when he had a three-game stint in the NBDL. Even though that ended abruptly when McCants thought he had a shot at playing in the NBA again, McCants has no plans to return to the D-League.

"I'm not a D-League player," McCants said. "D-League is for developmental. There is nothing I need to develop in the NBA."

If his time in college felt like jail, this must feel like exile as even teams in desperate need of a scorer (i.e. the Cleveland Cavaliers) still keep their distance.

McCants' agent told him NBA general managers want him to "show humility" before he'll get another opportunity, yet he hasn't exactly adhered to that request. After initially saying he was better than 70 percent of the players in the NBA, McCants upped the ante after being informed his agent thought the percentage was even higher.

"I was being modest saying 70 percent," McCants said. "My honest opinion is 95 percent. I don't even think there are top-tier All-Stars who are better than me, and they know who they are."

Related: Isaiah Mustafa: From Arizona State WR to Old Spice Guy 

McCants' agent, E. Lindsey Maxwell, points out that playing in the D-League also comes with the risk of injury. And in fairness, it's not McCants' game that NBA general managers are questioning. But how will they react now that McCants has spit out the humble pie they tried to feed him?

The other strategy Maxwell and McCants had was meeting with as many front office executives and coaches as possible before the season to dispel the player's bad reputation.

Said Maxwell: "Rashad is a very nice guy, he's a very warm guy. He's a competitive person and once you get to know him, you know he's a great guy to be around."

While fans might scoff at that comment, there is certainly another side to McCants that many people don't see. He has his own charity foundation for at-risk youth called "Generation 1 Foundation" and started the "Shoot For the Cure Foundation" to fight breast cancer, which his mother was diagnosed with during his last year in Chapel Hill. When he started in the NBDL, McCants also said he was going to donate his salary to charity.

If McCants goes unsigned for the rest of this season, Maxwell says the two are prepared to do the "same song and dance" next offseason.

"I have no doubt that Rashad will be back in the NBA," Maxwell said. "There's no doubt about it. He is the best player right now who is not on a roster."

If McCants can't chase his basketball dreams for now, he's content to pursue his acting goals. When asked for his favorite actor, McCants answers "Denzel Washington" without hesitation.

"He's the best," McCants said. "I don't want to follow anybody but the best. Whether that was Michael Jordan, that was Denzel Washington, that was Tupac Shakur. These are the guys I grew up wanting to be just like."

McCants' chances of returning to the NBA dwindle with each passing month, yet he certainly isn't going to grovel before NBA general managers to get back to where he thinks he belongs.

And if his basketball career is indeed over, it also doesn't appear McCants will lose any sleep over it.

"I can't stress over it anymore," McCants said. "I'm not the kind of guy that basketball's my only hope in life. I'm not that kind of human being. I'm not that kind of person to limit myself. So one door closes, another one opens."

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Ask Alex: Will Buster Posey prove immune to sophomore slump?

We all have questions about the 2011 season and Alex Remington luckily has some answers. The Stew's resident stats guru will address the big questions as opening day approaches.

The Situation: Short of being afforded an entire season, Buster Posey(notes) couldn't have had his rookie year go much better. Two years after being selected with the fifth pick in the 2008 draft, he won the Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year Award, finished 11th in the MVP voting, hit .375 in the NLDS to help defeat his hometown Atlanta Braves (and fellow Georgian catcher Brian McCann(notes)), and he smacked a homer in the fourth game of the World Series.

As Grant from McCovey Chronicles wrote:

The best position player prospect since Will Clark was ready to hit for a team that couldn't... And then Buster Posey won a division. And then he won a pennant. And then he won a championship. And then he won Rookie of the Year. You'd be stupid not to have him taking your NCAA bracket too. Posey over Duke, 89-61, with three Blue Devils caught stealing. They said there would be an adjustment period. If this was the adjustment period, it's hard to imagine what it will be like when Posey settles in.

The Question: After his spectacular debut in 2010, will Buster Posey prove himself immune to the sophomore slump in 2011?

The Analysis: There's no question that Posey is the real deal. That said, it is getting hard to see the player behind the hype. He's being anointed as the best fantasy catcher in all of baseball by some and ESPN the Magazine just called him NEXT.

As Mike Axisa wrote for Fangraphs:

Part of the pitfall of being the game's premier under-25 catcher is being overrated to a certain extent, especially in fantasy... Potential is a great, but Mauer and McCann are proven commodities at a scarce position. Sophomore slumps come in all shapes and sizes, and there's definite value in predictability. Posey doesn't offer much of that right now. That said, I'd be thrilled to have him.

As the ESPN piece notes, Posey only started catching four years ago, so his knees have experienced far less wear and tear than most catchers, which could help his legs stay fresh for longer. While it was remarkable that he hit the ground running as quickly as he did — his pedigree wasn't much different than that of Matt Wieters(notes), but Wieters has struggled to translate the superior power and plate discipline he showed in college and in the minors into production at the major league level. Posey basically just kept hitting.

And the major projection systems tend to believe that's just what he'll keep doing. Bill James believes he'll hit .308/.370/.506 with 21 homers and 74 RBI; Dan Szymborski's ZiPS calls for .298/.355/.480 with 21 homers and 92 RBI. But it's hard to predict anything but success for a man who has never known anything but success; the next time he struggles will be his first.

But catchers do often peak early — at least, they do when they get started early. So while Posey may get better, he may not get much better. Posey is one of 19 catchers to have a 15-homer season by the age of 23. All but four of the other 18 saw their rate stats decline in the following season (though many of them rebounded to post fine totals in their mid-to-late 20s); however, among those four were Hall of Famer Johnny Bench and near-Hall of Famers Joe Torre and Lance Parrish actually improved in their sophomore seasons.

Even still, Benito Santiago and Brian McCann's best seasons were at age 22, and Johnny Bench's best two seasons were at 22 and 24. Joe Torre and Rudy York were moved to the infield in their late 20s. Catchers who can hit are among the rarest commodities in baseball. Catchers who never hit a rough patch are nearly impossible to find.

The Forecast for 2011: There is nothing in Posey's past to suggest he'll do anything but hit. So I can't predict a severe sophomore dropoff. But, considering the history, I tend to agree with ZiPS that his power and batting average are likely to decline a bit, once he plays a full season behind the plate, rather than half a season in kneepads and a month at first base. I think 20 homers sounds about right, with a batting average a tick below .300 but an OPS comfortably over .800. Unless his bat goes nuclear, I doubt he'll finish quite so high in the MVP voting again: the 2010 Giants were a charmed team, and the world champion Giants as a team are likely headed for a bit of a sophomore slump themselves. But Posey will still be their best hitter by far. Maybe not quite as good as he was in 2010, but still one of the best two Georgian catchers in the league.

Do you have a question about the 2011 season for Alex? Email him here.

Previous questions: Can the Red Sox win 100 games?, How many games will the Astros win?, Will the Phillies miss Jayson Werth?

Related: Buster Posey, Atlanta Braves, Ask Alex

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InterTubing: A 360 Chicago slam, Austin Rivers and a 50-yard goal

A nationwide warm spell had Prep Rally searching nearby parks for bats and balls, but we've still got plenty of terrific dunks, buzzer beaters and goals to come before baseball -- and lacrosse! -- hit full swing soon.

• Eddie Alcantara, Hales Franciscan (Ill.) vs. St. Rita (Ill.): Hales rolled past Chicago Catholic rival St. Rita thanks to any number of dominant performances, but none of the game's individual highlights were more eye catching than this open court, 360 slam by Hales star Eddie Alcantara, a junior transfer from New York's Brother Rice who is rapidly moving up the ranks of Class of 2012 prospects.

• Austin Rivers, Winter Park (Fla.) vs. Timber Creek (Fla.): The younger sire of Celtics coach Doc Rivers is the top recruit in the country for a reason, and he showed some of the athleticism he'll bring to Duke next year in Winter Park's first playoff game, a 93-60 rout of University. Perhaps most interesting is the fact that Rivers received a technical foul on this play, allegedly for taunting the defender as he stared him down from the rim. Was Austin Rivers' technical warranted? Maybe, though it does seem a bit harsh to us. What do people think?

• Shavon Gayle, Windsor (Ont.) Catholic Central: We're not sure precisely who the Comets were facing off against in this game, but we are sure that Gayle, who currently stands just 5-foot-10, may be on his way to a Blake Griffin like vertical leap. Check out how he throws the ball through the hoop from above the rim on this clip. That's impressive.

• Aaric Armstead, Hales Franciscan (Ill.) vs. St. Rita (Ill.): Yes, that's right, we have multiple dunks from the same game this week. While this slamarama might not register with the same eye opening caliber of Alcantara's 360, it was made significantly more special by the alley-oop ... which came from his brother, Aaron Armstead. Don't expect this to be the last we hear of Hales here on InterTubing, either. The Franciscan school faces off against fellow Chitown high risers De La Salle for the Chicago Catholic Title on Friday night. Anyone else think there will be some strong highlights from that game?

• Brandon White, Liberty (Calif.) vs. Pittsburg (Calif.): White, the Lions breakout sophomore star, led Liberty to a 47-39 victory, but none of his points were more impressive than this circuit shot, which gave the Lions a two-point advantage heading into the half.

• Mike Tripp, Medical Lake (Wash.) vs. Pullman (Wash.): Medical Lake was bounced from the state playoffs in convincing fashion in this first round game at Pullman, but Cardinals guard Mike Tripp still stole the show with this three-quarter court buzzer beater at the end of a quarter.

• Jason Soneson, Naperville Central (Ill.) vs. Naperville North (Ill.): Not only did this amazing one-on-one goal from Jason Soneson come in a crosstown rivalry game, it came in a crosstown rivalry game in the Metro playoffs, a matchup with finished with a 5-5 tie. Clearly, none of the goals were nearly as eye catching as this miraculous finish from Soneson, who beat a defender and the goalie for a huge, game-changing score.

• Geo Cazal, Cabrillo (Calif.) vs. Jordan (Calif.): Cabrillo avenged an earlier loss to Jordan in impressive fashion, led in part by a true goal-of-the-year candidate from Geo Cazal, who connected on this shot from more than 50 yards away. The goal gave the Jaguars extra breathing room en route to a win that locked up second place in the Moore League.

Want more on the best stories in high school sports? Visit RivalsHigh or connect with Prep Rally on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

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10 years after his Daytona 500 win, Michael Waltrip wins at Daytona

10 years to the day after Michael Waltrip won the Daytona 500 -- and 10 years to the day after Dale Earnhardt was killed in that last lap crash -- Waltrip visited victory lane at Daytona again, winning the NextEra Energy 250 Camping World Truck Series race Friday night after a last lap pass of Elliott Sadler.

Sadler and Waltrip broke away from the pack over the last two laps in one of those now-familiar two vehicle drafts, with Waltrip pushing Sadler until the two entered the trioval approaching the checkered flag. Waltrip faked Sadler to the inside and pulled to the outside as Sadler defended the inside, completing the pass as the two drag raced to the finish line.

However, it wasn't without some controversy. On the penultimate lap, somewhere between the start finish line and turns three and four, part of Waltrip's spoiler broke, leaving the passenger-side half leaning backwards over the bumper of the truck. (Here's where Tony Kornheiser jumps in)

And as we all know, the resistance that a spoiler provides can help increase downforce, but it also decreases speed. Did it have anything to do with Waltrip being able to complete the pass on Sadler because his truck probably had more top-end speed as a result? We'll never know.

What we also don't know is if the malfunction will lead to a loss of points or other penalty. It's doubtful that NASCAR will rescind the win, but don't be surprised if there are penalties announced on Tuesday.

Related: , Michael Waltrip, Elliott Sadler

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Trending Topics: Here's why Brian Burke is a genius

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Saturday's Three Stars: Shutouts for Anderson, Montoya; Hall trick

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Grading the 2011 slam-dunk contest

The 2011 slam-dunk contest wasn't exactly a return to form -- the 1988 and 2000 competitions won't be shaking in their respective slammin' boots after watching tape from Saturday night's affair -- but the Blake Griffin(notes)-led show was a fun time out.

Griffin did pace the field, as was expected heading in. But he did have a fair amount of competition. Toronto's DeMar DeRozan(notes), Washington's JaVale McGee(notes) and Oklahoma City's Serge Ibaka(notes) all brought the relative goods. The Los Angeles Clippers forward was still ahead of the group, if barely, becoming the first rookie to win the contest since New York's Nate Robinson(notes) took the crown in 2006.

Click the jump, no dunk intended, for the breakdown:

DeMar DeRozan, Toronto Raptors

Expectations weren't exactly low for DeRozan as he entered the 2011 dunk competition, because we've watched him bound around the league for a year and a half since leaving USC. But after a weak showing last year during a glorified (and hopefully, one-off) dunk-in during 2010's All-Star weekend, one couldn't help but feel dubious as to whether or not the Toronto wing would bring the goods -- especially in a field featuring three forward/centers.

D.D. made it work, though, coming through with a nice reverse dunk off a poor pass from Amir Johnson(notes) (where was Jose Calderon(notes)?) in the first round.

DeRozan attempted a modified version of the Andre Iguodala(notes) bounce-and-reverse from the 2006 contest, but Johnson was out of his element trying to bounce the ball off the basket support. The last part is important. Iggy and others bounce the ball off the side of the backboard. DeMar? He took it off the support itself, several feet away from the board. And, most importantly, several feet away from the rim.

DeMar followed this with a deserved 50 for another reverse in the second round. An alley-oop followed by a windmill, from a guard? Brilliant. Not good enough to move on, apparently. Blame the pass in the first round.

Grade? Give the man an A, only mitigated by a teammate's bad toss.

Serge Ibaka, Oklahoma City Thunder

Serge Ibaka is around 6-8, so his dunk from the free throw line should have easily registered a 50. It certainly wasn't the most creative turn, even if the Congo-born second-year big man came through with a tribute to his home continent before throwing down, but it was worth a 50. Julius Erving was the same height as Ibaka, Brent Barry(notes) was an inch or two shorter, and they both had a toe or more on the line as they took off from 15 feet away. Ibaka did no such thing, taking off beyond the freebie stripe, and all he could take in were nines from the judges.

His second dunk was pretty contrived. A well-coiffed child actor was brought in from the audience to complain -- into a microphone -- about losing his toy, which was stuck in the net below the dunking rim. The kid was cute, the idea OK, but it grew a little stale rather quickly.

Ibaka proceeded to attempt to oop himself a pass, and dunk while grabbing the stuffed animal with his teeth. As if it couldn't get any weirder, Serge couldn't nail the first dunk, only coming down with the toy in his mouth. No dunk, just a toy in his mouth. The kid had to wait, as if it was ever his teddy to begin with, as NBA workers brought out a ladder (showmanship!) and re-affixed the "lost" toy to the rim. If you're still reading at this point, stop. It was dull and strange, and, yes, Serge nailed the dunk on the second attempt and brought down the lost toy. No amount of over-arching from the judges following their miss on the foul-line dunk could make this one any better.

Grade? Give the man a B, only marred by some bad advice.

JaVale McGee, Washington Wizards

Dwight Howard(notes), the 2009 dunk contest winner, was underneath the TNT microphones as a guest analyst. And while he didn't really offer any sort of insight worthy of repeating, the uncomfortable back and forth between Howard and McGee's "coach" Chris Webber did, for a short time, allow us to believe that McGee was going to attempt a dunk on a 13-foot rim. After all, Webber was coming through with a muddled bit of trash talk sent Howard's way, and after Dwight dunked on a 12-foot rim a few years back, it seemed only natural.

Instead, McGee brought out a second rim not to churn his way to 13-foot heights, but to attempt (and succeed) in dunking on two baskets at once. Or, dunking lefty, while throwing down off a lob on the right-hand rim. It, if your imagination is all that is allowed here, was amazing.

In the second round, McGee dunked three balls at once. Or, as close to "at once" as gravity will allow. It was, again, amazing. After that? He pulled some reach around reverse that would have been fantastic in its own right, but JaVale managed to straighten-out his right hand and dunk on the weak side as if he had started from that end. In all, it was a stunning display of athleticism.

In the third round, after his closest competitor brought out a middling four-cylinder car and jumped over the hood, McGee sort of lost his nerve while attempting his final stuff. After two half-hearted attempts at a lob off the glass and reverse, an embarrassed McGee settled on a bounce off the board and cock-backed throw-down with one hand. Nice, but this was shootaround work. An unfortunate end to a wildly impressive night out.

Grade? Give the man an A, only hurt by the amount of dunk attempts he needed.

Blake Griffin, Los Angeles Clippers

Make no mistake, Griffin was the best dunker of the night. At least, he was the most entertaining, and that's without taking into consideration the -- oh, let's be honest -- lame presentation that was his final dunk.

Worst things first. Griffin had a Kia something wheeled out for his final turn, and with a local choir singing "I Believe I Can Fly" beyond the half-court stripe, Blake jumped over the car's hood for a nice two-handed stuff. Now, none of us want Griffin to push things. We kind of like the idea of this guy dominating the league for the next 15 years. But this dunk, this show, was pretty dull.

The rest? The rookie brought it.

A 450-degree throwdown in the first round started things off. A second-round reverse off of a terrible Baron Davis(notes) pass followed. Davis kept us from seeing a dunk contest classic because Blake shifted after a few attempts and took an easier dunk.

In the third round, Griffin dunked from outside the charge circle, and easily fit his elbow into the rim. And while the dunk might not be something you'll tell your grandchildren about, this was a fantastic display of athleticism. He put a basketball in a 10-foot rim with his hand, that was connected to his arm, that was connected to his elbow, that also went into the rim. Any bit of Official Vehicle of the NBA-sponsored nonsense -- and this is coming from a guy who is going to a car show later today -- can't take away from that stunning burst. Blake Griffin deserved to win this dunk contest.

Grade? Give the man an A, tempered only by a dull stuff in the final round.

***

In all? The dunk contest was nothing to write home about.

As an entertainment package? It was great! I dare anyone who isn't on the wrong side of a batch of opiates to tell you that they sat through the entire thing and didn't have fun. Was it the best dunking exhibition we've seen? Clearly not. Were parts contrived? Of course.

Was it a great show? No doubt.

See you next year, Blake. And hopefully, JaVale.

Related: DeMar DeRozan, Blake Griffin, Serge Ibaka, JaVale McGee, Jose Calderon, Amir Johnson, Andre Iguodala, Nate Robinson, Dwight Howard, Baron Davis, Brent Barry, Los Angeles Clippers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Toronto Raptors, Washington Wizards

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Why Companies Made Major Marketing Shift in 2010 (free whitepaper)

SEO.com releases whitepaper outlining a radical change in marketing spending across the country, and identifies the return on investment for search marketing.

SALT LAKE CITY – In this ever-changing digital age, marketing has made a momentous change. Companies of all sizes are shifting advertising and marketing budgets from traditional strategies to search engine optimization and other forms of online marketing.

“When we look at the numbers out there, it’s very revolutionary,” said Nelson James, president of SEO.com. “What used to be the main strategy for marketers has taken a back seat.”

Forrester Research said marketers spent $26 billion in 2010 in Internet marketing, which rivals all spending on cable/satellite TV and radio. Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO) said nearly half all companies have decreased spending on traditional areas and are investing more in online marketing.

“We started investing in SEO for the first time this year, and the payoff has been tremendous,” said Sarah Huizingh, marketing manager for Spillman Technologies, a company that specializes in public safety software. Huizingh said Spillman took money out of the print advertising budget to invest in SEO.

Traditional strategies that are taking the biggest hit include print and direct mail. A recent SEMPO survey reported that 49 percent of companies are shifting money from their print advertising budget and putting it toward search engine optimization services, pay per click management and social media marketing. In 2010, 36 percent moved money away from their direct mail budget and 17 to 24 percent of companies made a similar shift away from conferences and exhibits, yellow page ads, and TV and radio ads.

So, what are the reasons for this change in behavior?

“It really comes down to three things,” James said. “Especially in a poor economy, people are looking for marketing solutions that target their demographic better, are highly measurable and show how each spent marketing dollar makes money.”

Strategies like SEO and PPC target customers at the moment they want to buy. Social media has the potential to engage millions of customers. Through analytics, marketers can accurately track where customers come from, how long they stay on a site, what campaigns bring in the most sales and more.

On average, SEO.com clients that have been doing search marketing for six months or more, receive an average return on investment of nearly 2,500 percent – or the equivalent of receiving $25 for every $1 spent.

“Online marketing enables companies to track each spent penny and is proven to deliver a really big ROI,” James said. “It’s probably the biggest reason why more are shifting their marketing budgets. As a result, traditional advertising is getting the leftovers of the marketing budget.”

For more detailed information, images, graphs and statistics about this shift in the marketing world, and the average ROI of 2,500 percent, read the whitepaper “Shift: From Traditional to Online Search Marketing” here: http://www.seo.com/Shift_Whitepaper.pdf

About SEO.com
SEO.com is a SEO firm that delivers a big ROI for its clients by driving traffic to their websites through aggressive search engine optimization, pay per click advertising, and social media marketing. SEO.com then turns those visitors into sales through user-friendly design and conversion optimization. Clients range from small startups to Fortune 100 companies.

Tags: internet marketing, marketing spending, Marketing trends, online marketing, Pay Per Click, Search marketing roi, seo, Social Media, traditional marketing

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Breakfast Buffet: Can Washington reenter Pac-10 title picture?

1. The highlight of an unusually intriguing weekend of West Coast college basketball may be seeing if Washington can revitalize its Pac-10 title hopes with a road win at first-place Arizona. The third-place Huskies beat the Wildcats in Seattle but broke a three-game road losing streak on Thursday night against last-place Arizona State.

2. Even though Penn State has shown signs of life under Ed DeChellis, there are still signs the basketball program lacks the administrative sport it needs to be successful. Case in point: For the second time in two weeks, the Nittany Lions had to practice in the Intramural Building instead of the Bryce Jordan Center, first because Bon Jovi was rehearsing for a concert and second because of a career fair.

3. As Arizona stands on the precipice of a top 10 ranking and a Pac-10 championship, it's important to remember how fortunate the Wildcats are to have Sean Miller as their coach. FoxSports.com's Jeff Goodman recalls that Miller originally was nowhere near the top choice of former Arizona athletic director Jim Livengood two years ago. 

4. Athletic directors looking for an energetic coach to jumpstart a struggling BCS conference program this spring could do a lot worse than Colorado State coach Tim Miles. As Ed Graney of the Las Vegas Review Journal explains, Miles has breathed life into a moribund Rams program with his ability to engage recruits in person, via social media and even a reality TV show.   

5. If Duke is going to repeat as national champs, the Blue Devils may need Seth Curry to build on his 20-point performance against North Carolina and emerge as a consistent scorer. "Coach has said all year that we need a third scoring punch," Curry told Yahoo! Sports. "He keeps getting on me to be more aggressive. A lot of times I'll catch myself standing there and watching Nolan and Kyle. They can do so much."

ESPN celebrates the sideline exuberance of college basketball coaches with this commercial. My one complaint? How does Marquette coach Buzz Williams not make the clip with his hilarious "walk it out" move from last season?

"I wouldn't look right. I'd look like a marshmallow." -- Arizona coach Sean Miller on whether he'll don a Rick Pitino-esque white suit for the Wildcats' whiteout game against Washington on Saturday. (Arizona Daily Star)

• Pittsburgh at St. John's, 12 p.m. ET

• Minnesota at Penn State, 7 p.m. ET

• George Mason at Northern Iowa, 7 p.m. ET 

• Illinois at Michigan State, 9 p.m. ET

• Utah State at St. Mary's, 9 p.m. ET

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Days of NBA Lives: Wherein Reggie Miller plays nice

 

At this point, seemingly half the NBA is on Twitter. It's a wild world of training updates, questions as to which movies they should go see, and explanations of their Call of Duty prowess. Every so often, though, you also get a picture into the more interesting aspects of NBA life. This feature is your window into that world.

Reggie Miller: Although I'm disappointed not to be included on this year's HOF ballot, I sincerely wish the best of luck to this year's Class of Finalists, all of whom I admire and respect greatly.

Nick Collison: Someone is "making it rain". I won't hesitate to grab a 20 dollar bill and pocket it. #recession #lockout.

LeBron James: Wish I had a chance to meet Michael Jackson before he passed! Amazing at what he did! #globalicon

Amir Johnson: You think Roscoe's gone run out of chicken and waffle batter this weekend??? #OnlyinLA

J.R. Smith: In the airport an this dude asked me am I traveling!

You can also follow Eric Freeman on Twitter at @freemaneric.

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Four Wide: Earnhardt's EMTs; Congress allows NASCAR funding

Rounding up a few of the week's best stories that didn't quite get the full-post treatment...

• Most teams decided not to practice at Daytona on Friday, having seen what could happen to cars which get a little funky with the two-car draft. [SB Nation]

• The story of the three EMTs who were the first to arrive on the scene of Dale Earnhart's fatal crash is chilling, yet somehow fascinating, another reminder of how one moment can bind together an entire nation of fans. Don't miss the stories of the firesuit and the media credential. [Boston Herald]

• Congratulations to USMC Staff Sergeant Matthew Hansen, who will be recognized as the named honoree of the Crown Royal "Your Name Here" 400 race in Richmond. Also honored: Matthew's identical twin brother Daniel, also a Marine, who was killed in action in February 2009. [NASCAR.com/Yahoo! Sports] 

• So it looks like the Pentagon will still sponsor NASCAR teams. A 281-148 vote kept the ban at bay. The vote broke down mostly along party lines, of course. [AP/Yahoo! Sports]

• I've read this piece from Ed Hinton probably half a dozen times, and it's still amazing: stories of riding in the passenger seat with Dale Earnhardt driving. [ESPN.com]

• The New York Times writes up NASCAR's changes and previews the Daytona 500, and does a fine job of it. Nary a "turning-left" joke in sight. [New York Times]

Got a link or tip? Hit us up at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or on Twitter at @jaybusbee. Get to it!

Related:

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Bristol helps Danica remember what state Bristol is in

You talk in enough press conferences, you're going to say something unfortunate. Such is the case with Danica Patrick, who recently admitted she didn't know what state Bristol Motor Speedway is in. (Hopefully she'd narrowed it down to Tennessee, the correct answer, and Virginia, which is only about six miles away.)

In an effort to remind her of the track's home state, Bristol general manager Jerry Caldwell showed up at Daytona with a gift basket of Tennessee treats, including a Vols pillow, a Titans wristband, Moon Pies, Elvis Presley CDs and Jack Daniels whiskey, among a bunch of other items. (See a full list here.)

Anyway, Patrick will get roasted for this, for sure, but hey, at least she got some candy and whiskey out of the deal. Matter of fact, I think I need a refresher myself ...

Related: Danica Patrick,

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Content Marketing Optimization Session with Lee Odden – PubCon 2010

If content can be searched, it can be optimized.

What are your customers’ content preferences? How do they discover? Consume? Share? Create a profile of your audience(s).

Use tools to create personas of data

Demographic info from Quantcast, CompeteKeyword info from SEMRush, GoogleEngagement info from PostRankSocial network info from Flowtown, Rapleaf

Create an editorial spreadsheet to plan all content that includes:

TopicKeywordsMedia TypePlaces Repost/Repurpose Content (Newsletter, Slideshare)Places to Promote (Facebook, Twitter, etc)

The SEO Content Cycle

Create & promote optimized contentContent is noticed, shared, & visibility growsExposure attracts more subscribers, fans, friends, linksIncrease links and exposure grows search & referral trafficTraffic & community provides data that you can research, develop to further grow social networks for content & SEO

Repurposing Content Example

Upload video to YouTubeEmbed in a blog post with show notesPost screen shots from video to FlickrUpload images and text as a story in a PowerPoint or PDF, upload to .docstoc, Scribd, etc.

Takeaways

Develop & optimize content with customers personas in mindThink like a publisher and create an editorial planDevelop channels of distribution & social linksLeverage both web & social media analytics

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Video: Sixers analyst falls asleep during game

It doesn't just stop with season-weary players and coaches. Announcers are ready for the All-Star break as well. Some could barely make it out of the last half-week of the season before sneaking in a long-deserved snooze.

Like former Philadelphia 76ers point guard, and current 76ers analyst Eric Snow(notes).

A good minute into the video (we skipped it ahead for you), you can hear Sixers play-by-play man Marc Zumoff ask the silent Snow (cool band name, kids) if he's "meditating."

Snow's sterling reply?

"I thought I was trying to stay awoke."

(Sic.)

Snow tries to play it off as if ... well, we're not sure how he tried to play it off. It started, we think, as a typical ha-ha joke about being annoyed by his partner, before he tried to compare it to an NBA huddle or game situation, before Zumoff and the action thankfully returned.

Enjoy the break, Eric. In your defense, I've fallen asleep to your games (both as a player, in-studio talking head, and analyst) as well. It's a long season.

(HT: FanHouse, via Deadspin)

Follow Yahoo! Sports on Facebook and be the first to know about the most interesting stories of the day.

Other popular Yahoo! Sports stories:
• Jim Gray 'removed' from Golf Channel after ugly incident
• An extremely embarrassing on-air gaffe
• NBA star receives extremely sad news

Related: Philadelphia 76ers, Video

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The Shutdown 40: #16 - Adrian Clayborn, DE, Iowa

 

With the 2010 NFL season in the books, it's time to turn our eyes to the NFL draft, and the pre-draft evaluation process. Before the 2011 scouting combine begins on February 24, we'll be taking a closer look at the 40 draft-eligible players who may be the biggest difference-makers when all is said and done.

We continue our series with Iowa defensive end Adrian Clayborn. 2009 was the Hawkeye's best season to date, as he put up 70 tackles (36 solo), 20 tackles for loss (17 solo), 11.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, and nine quarterback hurries. 2010 wasn't a dominant sequel (52 tackles/19 solo/seven tackles for loss/3.5 sacks/one forced fumble/six quarterback hurries). In his Iowa career, Clayborn logged 191 tackles (72 solo), 37.5 tackles for loss (30 solo), 19 sacks (17 solo), seven forced fumbles, and 19 quarterback hurries.

Pros: Clayborn shoots off the snap in a big hurry and takes a clean angle to the quarterback - he has impressive burst and acceleration for his size (6-foot-3, 286 pounds). Relentless in the backfield; he'll double back even after he's blocked out of a play and manage to blow the play up at times. Can sift through trash at the line to get free, and he's got the upper-body strength to split through blocks and take running backs down inside even when he doesn't have optimal positioning.

Moves off potential second-level blocks very well - can either climb the ladder to extend the play to the sideline and use his quickness to keep up. Too quick and strong to be kept out of a play with anything but a straight on-block - be jumps over cut-blocks and just blows past quick chips. Exhibits a violent hand-punch at the line and gets inside or outside the blocker quickly.

Cons: Focuses so intently on the tackle that he can be susceptible to running back jukes and misdirection, missing tackles and throwing himself out of plays. Needs to take better and more consistent angles to the ball in short areas. Clayborn can be ridden out of pass rushes surprisingly easily against stronger tackles, and if you get under his pads, you can move him where you want. Disruptive effectiveness is based far more on speed than strength. Doesn't get low when going around the edge on pass rushes; he gets frantic with his feet at times and this is a source of his lack of power against better blockers.

Conclusion: Had he followed his amazing junior campaign with an equivalent senior season, Clayborn would have few questions to answer in preparation for the scouting combine. But as it stands, he'll need a great performance in Indianapolis, especially in the pass rush drills and anything involving his ability to make quick and correct decisions as a tackler. Clayborn has the potential to be an elite run-stopping five-tech tackle in either a 4-3 or 3-4 defense (he's one of several possible first-round five-techs in this draft class), but the pass rush may take some time and technique work against better tackles. If he puts it all together, Clayborn could be an amazing player and a real disruptor in any situation.

NFL Comparison: Shaun Ellis(notes), New York Jets

More Shutdown 40
#40 -- Rodney Hudson, OG, Florida State | #39 - Luke Stocker, TE, Tennessee
 | #38 - Phil Taylor, DT, Baylor | #37 - Ryan Mallett, QB, Arkansas | #36 -- Leonard Hankerson, WR, Miami | #35 -- Danny Watkins, OL, Baylor | #34 - Stephen Paea, DT, Oregon State | #33 -- Christian Ponder, QB, Florida State | #32 - Mike Pouncey, OL, Florida | #31 - Nate Solder, OT, Colorado | #30 - Kyle Rudolph, TE, Notre Dame | #29 - Mikel Leshoure, RB, Illinois | #28 - Cameron Heyward, DE, Ohio State | #27 - Akeem Ayers, OLB, UCLA | #26 - Brandon Harris, CB, Miami | #25 - Gabe Carimi, OT, Wisconsin | #24 -- Jake Locker, QB, Washington| #23 -- Jimmy Smith, CB, Colorado| #22 - J.J. Watt, DE, Wisconsin | #21 - Corey Liuget, DT, Illinois| #20 - Derek Sherrod, OT, Mississippi State | #19 - Torrey Smith, WR, Maryland | #18 - Ryan Kerrigan, DE, Purdue | #17 - Mark Ingram, RB, Alabama

Related: New York Jets

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After Cancellation Notice, Offshore SEO Company Threatens Negative Reputation Management Campaign

A company received a smear campaign threat from its outsourced SEO firm because the firm knows Google’s algorithm improperly ranks negative results, which Google claims helps to show an impartial view of the Web.

Reference this e-mail and tell me if you’d rather hire offshore to save a few dollars or go with a reputable SEO company that can provide you with skilled SEO link builders and an on-going professional relationship.

This is in response to a request to cancel services for a month-to-month service offering:

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The legal nature of these tactics is questionable in the United States, but hiring an offshore firm doesn’t provide you the same protection from a “Negative Reputation Campaign.”

It’s unbelievable that an SEO company would put its own reputation on the line with such an e-mail because a client has decided to go with another SEO firm. I’ve seen these tactics for more than a decade in both Web design/development and SEO, and its extremely unfortunate.

A couple weeks ago, Google tweaked their algorithm to penalize DecorMyEyes.com after the NY Times published an article discussing their alleged fraudulent business practices that resulted in supposed increased Google rankings.

Bottom line: Google took action! They need to continue that effort with sites like RipOffReport.com, ComplaintsBoard.com, Scam.com and other sites that obtain very high positions in the Google Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) and seem to be favored by Google’s algorithm.

When searching for brand names, you often see negative complaints published on these URLs at the top of the SERPs. I would understand seeing these URLs with negative information showing up in the SERPs for searches like:

Brand name scamBrand name sucksBrand name complaintsBrand name problemsAnd other keyword combinations based around negative terms

But when a brand name is the sole keyword and a complaint site URL is showing up #2, there is most likely an imbalance of credibility with Google’s algorithm that gives the complaint site the advantage.

Keep in mind the backlink portfolio to the URLs listed do not warrant a #2 ranking, nor does Google agree that a similarly credible website should rank for every brand in the world with little more than a brand name displayed in a page title, header tag and content body. At least Google’s love affair with Wikipedia can be argued that Wikipedia’s deep pages obtain thousands of links individually and therefore deserve a top ranking.

What did I miss in this post and plea to Google to do the right thing? Please comment and share.

Tags: Offshore SEO Company, Online reputation, orm, Outsourced SEO, Reputation Management

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Derrick Williams' game-saving block preserves Arizona victory

In a game in which the Pac-10's two highest scoring teams combined for 173 points and numerous electrifying highlights, of course it was a defensive play that turned out to be the difference.

Trailing first-place Arizona by a point with 2.2 seconds remaining, Washington's Darnell Gant caught an inbound pass in the paint and appeared to be in position to score the game-winning basket. Instead Derrick Williams came from off the ball and made an emphatic game-saving block, preserving an 87-86 Arizona victory and strengthening his case for first-team All-American honors.

Williams finished with 26 points and 11 rebounds, but it was the sophomore forward's blocked shot that will resonate. The only question was whether Gant's shot was on its way down before the Arizona sophomore swatted it away.

Said Gant: "I thought it was goaltending."

Said Williams: "I believe if we were at Washington, they might have called that. Good thing we were at home."

As a result of that play, the Pac-10 title chase is down to two teams and neither of them are preseason favorite Washington. Arizona (23-4, 12-2) leads UCLA (19-7, 10-3) by a game in the loss column with their second of two meetings just seven days away in Los Angeles.

For Washington (18-8, 10-5), the loss was its fourth loss in its past five road games, but this one was far more encouraging than the previous three. The Huskies rallied from a 12-point second-half deficit to briefly take a 72-68 lead thanks to unselfish passing, energetic defense and relentless offensive rebounding.

Isaiah Thomas had 12 points and 9 assists and Matthew Bryan-Amaning had 18 of his 24 points in the second half, sparking the second-half comeback. The Huskies also forced 18 Arizona turnovers, taking advantage of sloppy ball handling from Williams and Arizona point guard MoMo Jones.

Falling one point short on the road leaves the Huskies in a slightly precarious position entering the final two weeks of Pac-10 play.

They look like a team capable of winning the Pac-10 tournament or making an NCAA tournament run, but their resume is mostly bereft of quality wins. Aside from a home win over Arizona and a road win at UCLA, the Huskies don't have another victory over an RPI top 80 team, though they've played lost to Kentucky, Texas A&M and Arizona by a combined seven points.

What's promising for Washington is its final three Pac-10 games of the season are in Seattle, where the Huskies have been basically unbeatable this season.

If the Huskies can beat Washington State, USC and UCLA and then make a good showing in the Pac-10 tournament, there's still an opportunity for them to play their way into a favorable NCAA tournament seed. 

Related: Arizona Wildcats

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Twitter beef: Forrest Griffin and Tito Ortiz spar online

Forrest Griffin and Tito Ortiz have fought twice, and both have ended in a split decision, one win for each fighter. Either those losses didn't sit well with Griffin, or he was bored and needed some entertainment on Thursday.

Griffin tweeted a self-deprecating message, comparing himself to Ortiz's worst qualities. Ortiz responded with several tweets ripping on Griffin.

Tito, let's talk for a second. I've taken one psychology class in grad school, so I'm pretty sure that qualifies me to analyze you. Is it possible that you have some unresolved anger and insecurity over the recent rough patch your career has hit? And just who are you angry at, Tito? Is it Forrest or is it this guy?

Work it out, Tito. Channel that anger towards your March 26 bout with Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. Or maybe try some yoga and scented candles. 

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Still much work to do for Burke to fulfill his master plan

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Record-setting Iowa female wrestler's state tourney run ends

A little more than 24 hours after Cassy Herkelman made history by recording the first victory for a female in the Iowa state wrestling tournament, she was eliminated from the event following two consecutive losses.

Herkelman was defeated twice in the double-elimination tournament on Friday, falling in the second round to Indianola (Iowa) High's Matt Victor by a 5-1 score and falling by pin in the first period against Des Moines (Iowa) Hoover High's Jordan Jones. Afterwards, she spoke to assembled media, including WHO-TV, about her tough second day and the forfeit. 

"After districts I knew [the media attention] was going to be crazy here," Herkelman told the press. "[Northrup] has the right to make his own choice, and it's not like he did what he didn't want to do."

For Herkelman, the second day of the competition was much more rigorous than the first, in which she received credit for a victory without having to physically defeat another wrestler on the mat. Northrup's forfeit received national attention here and elsewhere, with commenters, callers to sports radio shows, and other wrestlers and their parents all coming down on different sides of the issue.

While Herkelman finished with a 1-2 overall record, the other female contestant in the 112-pound division, Ottumwa sophomore Megan Black, had an even more trying tournament. The first-time state qualifier fell in both of her bouts on Thursday, leading to her elimination on the first day of the event.

The Associated Press reported that Black watched Herkelman's bouts from the stands on Friday, cheering her on despite the setbacks.

"She tried hard, so that's good," Black told the Associated Press.

As for Northrup, his father, Jamie Northrup, spoke to the Des Moines Register about his son's decision not to face off against Herkelman, costing himself a shot at a state title in the process.

"We spent a couple of days agonizing over this," Jamie Northrup told the Register. "And just giving to Joel to really allow him to make the decision. Joel made the decision that he felt was the right decision, and it aligned with his beliefs and his values and conscience."

Joel Northrup -- who was also eliminated after a second-round loss on Friday -- is home-schooled by Jamie Northrup, a youth pastor and volunteer chaplain for the U.S. Army, and his mother, Sara, but competes for the Linn-Mar (Iowa) High wrestling team, which is his local public high school. Throughout the lead-up to his forfeit on Thursday, Northrup cited his faith as the primary reason why he felt it was inappropriate for him to wrestle against a girl.

"I don't believe there are any specific pieces of Scripture that address this particular issue," Jamie Northrup told the Register. "But as men, the Bible talks to us about loving our wives, protecting our families, being there, as an older brother, just to protect his home and his sisters.

"And so, I would say that's more of a principle that we're following. We just don't believe that in a combat sport, a boy should be going against a girl in this manner."

Still, a day after the forfeit, Herkelman's father, Bill, insisted that he and his daughter had absolutely no ill-will toward the Northrups, despite all the additional focus the incident has put on both families.

"I know Cassy [was] disappointed not to get on the mat with him," Bill Herkelman told the Register. "But it's their belief, they're very strict in that, and I support that.

"I'd like to meet [Northrup's] dad. I'd like to shake his hand."

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Anthony Kim's terrible, horrible, no-good, very-bad lie

In Round 1 of the Northern Trust Open, Anthony Kim got a bad break. A very, very bad break. We've all flown greens before, we've all hit cart paths before. But it's safe to say you've never had anything happen quite like this. As Geoff Shackelford helpfully points out in this video, things turned ugly for AK in a hurry:

Great job on the video, though it could've used more reenactment, like a ball rolling down the pavement. Spring for a ball, Shackelford!

Kim finished with a double-bogey 6 and a string of profanities that's still floating somewhere out over the Pacific Ocean. His playing partner, Phil Mickelson, wisely stayed silent the entire time.

Related: Anthony Kim, Phil Mickelson

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Couture's son wins his second pro fight at Strikeforce Challengers

He's not exactly a chip off the old block, but Ryan Couture is showing a pretty good skill set for a kid who only made an MMA career a goal a few years ago. The son of UFC legend Randy Couture, won his second pro fight with a rear-naked choke at 4:40 of the third round against Lee Higgins.

"I just want to continue to get more comfortable in there," Couture said. "My skills held up there pretty well to what they do in the gym. I want to just pursue that comfort level. I think getting almost 15 minutes in here was a big help."

Couture's father is still an active fighter at 48 years old. He's held both the UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight titles. He was also an alternate on three U.S. Olympic Greco-Roman wrestling squads.

The younger Couture was ahead on the scorecards heading to the latter part of the fight before he landed the finishing move. He dictated pace throughout in both the standup game and the ground. The 28-year-old was constantly on the move going from side-to-side, switching stances and mixing in lots of kicks. A conventional fighter, he was effective as a southpaw  with both the outside kick to the front leg and some vicious body kicks with his left. But it was on the ground where Couture wore down Higgins.

Late in the first, he worked a standing guillotine choke and dragged Higgins to the mat. He transitioned to a tight d'arce choke. He had it locked on over the final 15 seconds of the round, but Higgins survived. 

Higgins tried to close space and play the clinch game in the second. Couture stayed on the move and softened up Higgins with more leg and body kicks. With 2:35 left in the round, Higgins got lazy with his hands and got drilled with a right, that buckled his knees and dropped him.

He got right up but didn't have his wits about him and was taken down with 2:29 left and mounted 16 seconds later. Couture first worked for an arm-triangle choke. Higgins defended that well, so Couture took his back and eventually slapped on a body triangle. As he squeezed the air out of Higgins, Couture worked for multiple attempts at a rear-naked choke. While doing so, he pounded away at Higgins' ribs and got in some nasty punches to the side of his head. 

Couture gave Higgins (2-1) a lot of credit for his defense on the ground.

"He was tough as nails. He was hand fighting me like crazy. He wore out my forearms," Couture said. "I can't hardly ball up my fists anymore. I was real glad I was finally able to get him there at the end."

Higgins was ineffective on the feet and again tried to get it to the ground early in the third. Couture's takedown defense was excellent. The Las Vegan bounced around the cage landing occasional shots and took down a tired Higgins again with 2:08 left. Now he was battling the clock. Couture quickly moved to take his back, flattened him out and spun him over where he once again locked on the body triangle. Couture worked several chokes that were very tight. With 20 seconds left, Higgins couldn't hold out any longer and tapped. 

Couture has no set schedule for his next fight, but he looks like he may be able to carve out a solid career at lightweight.His father also got a late start to his pro MMA career.Randy transition from amateur wrestling to MMA at age 33. Of course, it was also very much an outlaw sport back in 1997 with little earning potential. His son is a drawing card and is certain to be part of a future televised Challengers card. 

"I just want to continue to get more comfortable in there. My skills held up there pretty well to what they do in the gym," Couture said. "I think getting almost 15 minutes in here was a big help."

Strikeforce Challengers undercard (courtesy MMAjunkie):

Ryan Larson def. Erik Apple via submission (triangle choke) - Round 2, 3:14
David Douglas def. Nick Gonzalez via submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 1, 1:05
Ousmane Thomas Diagne def. Aaron Franco via TKO (strikes) - Round 1, 4:22
Drew Pendleton def. Dennis Dombrow via submission (guillotine) - Round 2, 2:38

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The Best Keyword Research Method Ever Invented For Blogs

Have you ever done keyword research for a blog post and experienced no resulting organic traffic? You may be thinking, “What happened? The terms I optimized for had search volume. Why am I not getting a piece of that?”

Welcome to the club.

Credibility is a major obstacle for blog posts. Search engines want to rank the most credible, comprehensive resource for a given keyword term. Most blog posts don’t have what it takes to be “most credible.” A blog post can gain credibility and ranking as it picks up links, either naturally or through deliberate linkbuilding efforts, but this is more commonly seen with evergreen content than with blog content. Bloggers typically aren’t linkbuilding.

Competition is another reason for the difficulty in getting organic traffic from blog posts. Google’s keyword tool, used by many bloggers, does not display all of the terms that people search for, nor does it display terms with small levels of search volume. Because of this, many bloggers in the same niche research and optimize using the same limited set of keyword terms and make it nearly impossible for newcomers to rank without a lot of SEO work. It’s hard for some to accept this idea that Google’s keyword volume tool is actually setting a post up for organic failure.

As a hypothetical example, suppose I write a blog post about keyword research methods (how apropos). I do a little bit of research using Google’s Keyword Tool and find that “how to do keyword research” gets 320 global monthly searches.

I convince myself that the term is within reach. 320 isn’t a very high number after all. So I title my post “How To Do Keyword Research,” and interlace those words and phrases throughout the body of the content and press “Publish.” A couple of days later, the blog post is ranking on page 6 and gets no organic traffic except for the occasional hit from a bizarre semi-relevant phrase. Failure.

What I didn’t realize when I published the post is that the competition level for a term like “how to do keyword research” is high enough to keep my new blog post from getting anywhere near the first page.

On the results page are several posts that have my exact term in the title. As a blogger, I know my niche well enough to know that several of these sites are far bigger and more credible than mine. (A few SEO-savvy bloggers will be able to verify their hunch by looking at backlinks, PageRank, etc). So if I want my blog post to rank well for this result and get any organic traffic, I’ll have to build my own links to the post and I just don’t have that kind of time. I barely had time to write this post! Alas!

If you’re a blogger who cares enough to do some keyword research for each post, but doesn’t want to build links, then consider trying what I’ve been testing for about the last month. It involves targeting under-the-radar keywords that are relevant and being searched, but are too low to register on most keyword tools.

The goal in being a guerrilla keyword researcher is to find the best “ultra long tail” terms, optimize the post, rank in the top spots automatically, and reap the traffic. As you get traffic, you’ll get more engagement, more natural links, and more site credibility, allowing you to rank for even more competitive keywords later. This approach works best if you have a blog with a little bit of PageRank. A PR1 or PR2 should be able to get a high ranking for guerrilla terms.

The basic steps to my blogging keyword research strategy (which I’ll explore in detail):

Write a good, interesting postIdentify core keywords related to the postUse Google’s Keyword Tool to find long-tail variations with search volumeUse Soovle.com to find even longer variations with implied search volumeSearch these terms in Google to identify low competition resultsOptimize and win!

Whatever you write should be engaging, have a unifying theme, and a decent length. More is usually better for SEO, so try for at least 300+ words.

In the example, we identified “keyword research” to be the core term. In your case, there may be certain terms that are used interchangeably so you may have multiple possible core terms.

Working off the core term, Google’s keyword tool provides some keyword suggestions that still have measurable search volume. You can play around with different combinations of these to find relevant long-tail terms. In this case, we liked “how to do keyword research” as a long-tail keyword, even though it was still too broad to keep. There are probably other long-tail terms we could work with.

Soovle.com is basically an aggregator of “suggest” results from search engines like Google, Bing, YouTube, Wikipedia, Yahoo, Answers.com and Amazon.com. One thing we know about “suggest” results is that they are based on searcher behavior and that results at the top have more search volumes than those below (but the important thing to know is that all “suggest” results have some search volume).

There’s nothing novel about the way Soovle works, but I like it for its simplicity and its breadth of results. And it’s free (you could also use something like ScrapeBox for a more robust, paid solution).

So we plug in the term “how to do keyword research.”

We get several variations of this term including some relevant ones:

How to do keyword research on googleHow to do keyword research for seoHow to do keyword research seo

Since there are 10 results listed, there’s a good chance that there are other combinations we’re not seeing, so starting with “how to do keyword research,” we can start going through the alphabet and adding letters as if starting a new word at the end of the phrase, e.g., “how to do keyword research a” and “how to do keyword research b,” etc. Doing this reveals a few more variations we didn’t see before:

How to do keyword research for free (this made me laugh)How to do keyword research google adwordsHow to do keyword research nicheHow to do keyword research tutorial

As I mentioned before, all of these terms get search volume, even though most of them would show none using Google’s volume tool (which is exactly what you want).

Another thing you can do is start with a broader term in Soovle, like “keyword research.” By starting broad, nearly every suggested term is one that also has a good amount of traffic, so none are good candidates. What you can do, though, is start front-loading the term “keyword research” with the most common adjectives and verbs to find under-the-radar variations, phrases that people naturally use when trying to search, like “easy keyword research.” For adjectives, I find that “good” and “best” are great places to start. You can also start with verbs that are associated with the term. The only verb that really goes with keyword research is “do” so I type in “do keyword research” and see what else is generated.

When I start with the term “best keyword research” and then add letters like we did previously [“best keyword research a(b,c,d,e…)”] we end up with some more fun and relevant terms:

Best keyword research articleBest keyword research guideBest keyword research methodBest keyword research strategy

Once you have identified some good terms through Soovle, check them for search volume in Google Keyword Tool, then search for the terms in Google. You’re looking for a search result with close to zero exact match titles for the term you selected.

In this case, “best keyword research method” is nearly free of exact competition and the sites that rank look easy enough to overtake.

Optimization includes having the exact keyword phrase in the post title, meta description, and body content. The rest of the content should also be relevant to the keyword. If possible, you can do some internal linking from older blog posts. You can optimize images as well by giving them names that include your search term.

Once you get into a rhythm of going through this keyword research process, you get used to it, and it honestly doesn’t take very long. In some of the posts I’ve tested this out on, I’ve found it easy to rank without extra linkbuilding, and one post can pull in dozens of monthly organic visits from one term and its variations. It’s really quite nice.

Tags: Keyword Research, rankings, seo for bloggers, soovle

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