While print journalism has steadily declined in popularity due to the rise of online newspapers, it seems online newspapers may soon be outranked by another news platform: social media sites.

The internet is expansive and it reaches all corners of the globe, and thus most languages in use have found their way online to some degree. As such, it is a popular thought that businesses marketing both their presence and product online want to have language-specific sites in order to cater to specific audiences offering content that they can readily consume. This remains entirely true, however, the behavior of web users in relation to their language use and web searching looks a bit different than previously expected now, considering recent research by UK marketing firm Greenlight.

Over the past several years, Google has slowly expanded their business beyond search and even Web-based technology. While the entire Google brand was initially built on the revolutionary search engine pioneered by Larry Page and Sergey Brin; the transition into email, social media and other areas has mostly proven to be a success for the company. Gmail, Google+ and subsidiary, YouTube, are amongst the most frequently visited and most profitable sites on the Internet. In addition to those entities, Google also developed the immensely popular Chrome browser and Android mobile OS. These and other innovations have helped Google maintain a large percentage of the market share in the Internet tech sector and made many of the company's properties a target for Internet marketing companies and advertisers. However, some of the company's newest endeavors have left even the most devout Google supporters concerned.

I walked into a coffee shop the other morning and witnessed a customer, the end user, giving the barista an incredibly difficult time.  I've observed such dynamics a lot in my life.  I waited on tables as a young adult.  Some people remember you are human too while serving them; others become detached from humanity and begin treating people…differently. 

It's been a few hours since we've heard something about Mark Zuckerberg; but, this is not about that acronym.  This story is about Facebook's potential to build a smart phone.  That's right, the social media star wants to broaden its horizons and fully enter the market.

For the last twenty years, numerous SEO companies and internet advertisers have depended on keywords as being a guiding light for search engine indexers and site crawlers. A tactic commonly used by ethical and unethical online marketing agencies alike, heavily emphasized keyword implementation was so pervasive throughout the web development community that almost everyone has come to rely on it. Of course, this all started to change with the arrival of Google's Panda updates as well as the recent release of Penguin. Now, webmasters are looking for ways to remain relevant to Google and other search engines while revising their own operations.

Kenneth Wisnefski discusses the use of mobile advertising on commuter rails.  In particular, Wisnefski introduces the idea of QR codes in marketing strategies.  Read more

I am friendly with a retail store owner.  It's interesting to know how much thinking some implementations warrant.  Think of a store as a Web page, only larger and obviously more interactive.  Where should he place his goods to recruit attention and make conversions?

Many are well-aware of the various employment sites available such as Craigslist, Indeed, Monster and CareerBuilder to help in the search for a job. Users can look for a job in their related field or industry, and within a certain geographical location. While these sites are a great way to find a job, an individual's social media presence can also help them land a job.

Baidu, China’s homegrown and dominant search engine, delivers users results to their search queries based largely on the context and the semantic inferences that can be drawn from the keywords and keyword phrases used. This semantic search functionality has been a part of Baidu’s offering for some time and it now is the main driver in the search engine’s “box computing” approach that they have put forward. This approach looks to directly address the type of information that searchers are looking for by breaking information into three categories (content, data, and applications) using the semantic mechanism in the algo to determine which is most relevant.

Recently, proposed bills such as the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA) have stalled, largely because of negative backlash by Internet companies and, more importantly, the Obama administration.  Kenneth Wisnefski discusses online security in addition to the proposed SOPA and PIPA.  Read more

Kenneth Wisnefski discusses Facebook’s development and launch of the new Facebook Camera App.  Read more

Since coming online in 2004, Facebook has risen to the top of the social-media landscape and asserted itself as the essential platform for connecting with people over the Internet.  Kenneth Wisnefski discusses Facebook’s IPO and its impact on marketers.  Read more

When brands are built up effectively over time and used purposefully, they can have a tremendous impact on the company and deliver considerable financial gain, supplementing the primary revenue generation from the sale of their actual products. Ford, one of the biggest and most recognizable name brands in the country and world, is a shining example of this.

Sometimes in business we have a vision; yet, in our quest to capture, to attain the image, we wrestle with the reality of the situation.  It happens.  Otherwise, every business that ever started would flourish.  That's a beautiful vision, pile-driven by the reality of business.

The last two weeks have been an incredibly stressful time for every web-focused company. Between Facebook's recent woes concerning its IPO and General Motors pulling out of its in-network marketing, there's been more than a little bit of uncertainty in the SEO and online marketing communities as of late. Many of our readers no doubt have their own growing concerns over the state of all-things social media and search engine-related. While current events may have everyone second guessing the viability of their social network strategies, in truth there is no reason to panic.

There is news from Google every day. There is news regarding their search, advances in their other offerings, or rulings in their pending legal matters. Regardless of the type of content, there is a constant stream of information and for those tracking these developments on a daily basis like we do here; it is simply a lot about one company. But, there is some news here that I'll touch on today that shows a different side of the dominant global search engine - the charitable corporate social responsibility side.

What do you think about when you hear of an 'entrepreneur'?  Most of us are immediately impressed, imagining a Mark Zuckerberg or Wall Street tycoon; but, what about the scores of entrepreneurs you never heard about?  Sure, there are those kinds too!  Where do entrepreneurs in the making go to accelerate their chances of becoming a Zuckerberg?  They go to 'accelerators,' businesses such as Y Combinator and TechStars, two of the most popular startup-training/seeding hubs; yet the WSJ observes more than 200-plus existing businesses worldwide.

Kenneth Wisnefski, founder and CEO of WebiMax, a leading search engine optimization firm, announced today that the company will host a webinar discussing Google, Inc.’s recent Penguin algorithm update and the future of internet marketing.  Read more

Google Authorship is your way of claiming ownership of content on the web. Authorship results have been on the rise and page results with proper Authorship markup have been shown to increase click-through rates (CTR). Why? Most likely because people are drawn to people and tend to look where a person looks within an image.

By now, if you're reading me, you understand online marketing is marketing in essence.  Marketing involves relating to people.  People can be creatures of routine; yet, life is not so pragmatic.  Exceptions do and will always exist; people are extremely dynamic as well as routine.

Since coming online in 2004, Facebook has risen to the top of the social media landscape and asserted itself as the essential platform for connecting with people over the internet. Now, with over 900 million users, it is extremely popular and being used at an increasing rate as a marketing and advertising platform for businesses across all industries. Although, there is considerable worth for businesses on the platform, the value of it for these specific purposes varies greatly.

I have written a considerable amount before about how technology and the search industry is challenging the existing legal frameworks that are present around the world in new ways. This is due to the constant evolution of the industries involved as they change and adapt very quickly, but also it is largely all new. In many cases, never before have the existing laws, whether antitrust or other, been applied in these ways and thus, new interpretations of the laws need to be made. This does not impact the search marketing industry as much as it does the tech sector, but when dealing with Google, their activity and any changes to their operations, greatly impact the internet marketing and optimization for improved search results.

I've somewhat embraced the Google zoo because the inability to 'game' the engine has called for more marketing.  Sorry, (you know who you are).   So, this thing marketing, I'm no expert; but, I know a little about a little.

Although the term may sound like made-up internet jargon (and to some extent it is), "gamification" is a real trend and one that has become increasingly common in society. The phrase itself refers to the rising prevalence of game-like mechanics across non-game-related media in our daily lives. Regular users of mobile apps such as Foursquare are no doubt familiar with the concept: ordinary errands and chores help a person earn points and badges with which to compete with friends and, sometimes, random strangers. Occasionally there are prizes (often in the form of coupons), but most of the time that users spend on Foursquare is geared towards friendly competition.

To webmasters and ordinary people hooked on social media sites, it's pretty obvious how advantageous social media sites can be. Users can communicate and interact with others instantly, from any place and at any time. Many businesses have recognized the marketing advantages of social media sites as these platforms allow businesses to showcase their products and services as well as engage with customers. One particular industry that's taking notice of the benefits of social media sites is the restaurant business.

Consumers are heading online to do their shopping more and more and this has been shown in all the surveys and sales reports that are released by retailers and research firms alike. There is no argument being made for e-commerce to outright replace traditional in-store shopping, however, the future is clearly looking like one where shoppers do a large portion of their shopping online and this may be seen in some sectors or product categories over others.

The Google Penguin update has changed the perception of SEO for many businesses. But it shouldn't have. Effective, sustainable online marketing doesn't revolve around Google or even the Internet. SEO starts with your business. With your employees and your customers.