A week ago today, millions of people (maybe even you) tuned in as the President of the United States, George Dubya, delivered his sixth State of the Union Address. Now, before everyone gets up-in-arms about this being a political post, I assure you that it is not. I've read Jim Boykin's past attempt at a political post and as he says: "Politics and SEO - They Just Don't Mix". I'll take his word on it. Instead, I will use this post, as the President did with his speech, to discuss my past and future goals as the author of this Blog. Well... that and to completely disregard the English language to the point of confusion... aka "Bushisims" (or would they now be "Klogisims").

Last year, when I gave my "State of the Klog Address" it featured such agendas as:

• Adding Category Archives (Done)
• Improving the Design of Emails (For Email Subscribers)(Done)
• Blogging More (Do)
• Providing Better Conference Coverage (Do)
• Inviting Guest Bloggers (Do)
• Publishing Industry-Related Book Reviews (Do)
• Publishing Industry-Related Interviews (Do)

This year, I've added 3 brand new agendas and 1 previous one to my 2007 term as author of this beloved Blog. They are as follows:

Moving Forward with Guest Blogging
I don't know about you, but Jessica has done a great job of guest Blogging for me from time to time. She has brought us such insights as "Do Students Want Google Rollin' Wiki Style" and "The SEM's Top 10 List of Top 10 Lists of 2006", and who among us could forget "You've Been Plutoed!". With that said, this year I'd like to step-up my efforts and acquire a few more guest posts / Bloggers in hopes of providing a very beneficial reader-experience. I'm a firm believer in providing a variety of views and opinions, and having others guest Blog on the Klog Blog is one way I can do so.

On a side note, if anyone out there has an idea for an article or is interested in being a guest Blogger, please be sure to let me know. I'm always on the hunt of great search-related content, and in return am more than willing to link to / plug your cause.

Increasing the Klog Love
As a way to thank those who were gracious enough to take time away from their very busy schedules and participate in one-on-one interviews, I purchased and personally mailed each a Klog... the very fun-loving, signature wooden shoe that has become the icon for my Blog. As word spread, they became quite the big hit with some of the people in this industry... and to the point where I've actually received requests. Who knew? I plan to continue passing out Klogs for each interviewee, but don't be surprised if you begin seeing more and more Klogs being handed out either via this Blog or while away at conferences.

Building a Bigger Klog Blog Community
I must admit that it has been quite shocking as of late when reviewing my website's stats. The number of people dropping by and joining in with their comments has greatly increased, and I couldn't be happier. Going forward, I'd like to carry this momentum into this next year and build an even bigger, better Klog community. Joining "My BlogLog" seems to have had a real positive influence in building a larger community and with that I'm planning on throwing my hat at other social media networks to see how I can leverage them for more growth. Oh, and by the way... if you join my "My BlogLog Community" on or before February 16th your eligible to win 1 of 5 signature wooden Klogs. Pretty sweet huh? Be sure to do that.

Getting Personal! Be Willing to Venture Off-Topic
Would it surprise you to hear that some my absolute favorite SEM posts are actually those that aren't SEM related? Guys (and girls) like Barry Schwartz, Michael Roebuck, and Kim Krause Berg are serious about their positions in the SEM industry and write some superb stuff on their areas of expertise. However, these are also the same people who posted about "Singing & Dancing: Not My Thing", "Baby Duty", and "Why Are Baseball Pants Inside the Freezer?".

Up until recently, I've been very strict (on myself) when it came to posting non-search related content. Even though there is nothing wrong with doing so, I've always felt that I wasn't being as personable and open as a Blogger should be... and because of that, people were only seeing the "search marketer" side of me. In my last post I mentioned that I enjoy reading Blogs where the authors let their personality seep through in their writing. I feel that many of you do as well. With that said, I think it's time I begin to drink some of this Kool-Aid that I'm making. Expect an occasional off-topic piece thrown into the mix here and there.

This concludes this year's "State of the Klog Address". Unlike the President's Address, I've left the comments section open for viewer / reader debate, ideas for improvement, and of course comments. Feel free to leave yours. Thanks for dropping by.

In light of Lee Odden's monster post of "Search Marketing Blogs" a few weeks back (Side Note: The Klog Blog was not "cool" enough to make the list... what gives Lee?), I've decided to throw out my own personal list of Search Marketing Blogs that I tune into daily, and explain a little bit about how I read and decipher through the landfill of information that sits in my reader each and every day.

First of all, it's obvious to anyone that works in this industry (with the exception of "The Lisa" who seems to live, eat, and sleep Blogs / Blogging) that reading 150+ active blogs each day is near impossible... that is if you intend to get anything else done. I, as most of you, am in the front lines when it comes to search marketing. I'm involved with several SEO and PPC projects daily, and have very little time left in my work day to be reading everybody's views and opinions on all things search. With that said, I'm very particular on which Blogs / authors I follow, and basically those that I feel are worthy... I make time for.

Today, I'm subscribed to nearly 90 search-marketing Blogs, which is either a lot or a little pending on your position in this industry and what your particular needs are. I certainly don't feel the need to monitor 300+ Blogs as Lee does, but I do wish to follow more than what's on Disco's shortlist.

When subscribing to new Blogs, I look for the following information:

First and foremost, a Blog must be some what related to the Search Marketing industry (SEO, PPC, SMO, etc.) if I'm going to even consider it. I certainly don't have time to squeeze in off-topic reading into my daily mix. Ok... maybe the feed from Nintendo's Press and Media site, but that's it!

Second, is the Blog recommended? Did Todd, Joe, or Jim just plug your Blog or reference it as a must read. If they did... you just made my feed reader. A "congratulations" is in order; however, you best have your game face on because you only have a few posts to prove your worthiness.

Does the Blog publish quality content (and by quality I mean by my standards)? This is probably the hardest factor to explain, but it's certainly the most important. I'll be the first to admit that my quality standards are a little low. Sure, I love reading educational posts regarding the many topics spawned by our industry, but I also enjoy reading entertaining posts (like the one when Dax sold the captain (his moustache) on eBay and then recorded himself shaving it off). I look for posts that inform as well as break up my otherwise serious day at work.

Is the author personable in their writing? To me, Blogging isn't the same as writing a term paper. When I read someone's Blog I expect to be reading their views and opinions on a topic, not just the news or announcement. If I was only interested in search news, I'd only be subscribed to places like Search Engine Watch or Search Engine Land. I love it when an author let's their personality seep through in their writing.

My list of Search Marketing Blogs

The trick for me when it comes to reading 90 or so Blogs is to separate my feeds into 3 separate groups (folders). I found that by labeling feeds based on "Daily News", "Daily Reads", and "Weekly Reads" I'm able to read all of the Blogs I've subscribed to and still manage to get some work done. The following are my feeds separated into groups:

The "Daily News" Folder
This folder contains a list of authoritative Blogs that are a must read for any search engine marketer. These guys post quite frequently throughout the day and are typically the first to learn of any and all new breakthroughs, acquisitions, announcements, or happenings relating to our industry. Because these Blogs publish a lot of content daily, I tend to just skim the titles until I find one that catches my interest.

• Ask Jeeves Blog
• Google Adwords: Inside AdWords
• Google Blog
• MSN adCenter Blog
• MSN Search Blog
• Search Engine Land
• Search Engine Roundtable
• Search Engine Watch
• Threadwatch.org
• Yahoo! Search Blog
• Yahoo! Search Marketing Blog

The "Daily Reads" Folder
This folder contains a list of my personal favorite search related Blogs, in which I monitor and read multiple times throughout the day. In my opinion, these guys are some of the industries top "bad-asses" and offer thoughtful commentary that is both educational and entertaining. Unlike the "Daily News" group, this group of Bloggers is always willing to share their $0.02 on much of the major news and happenings.

• Aaron Wall: SEO Book.com
• Abhilash Patel
• Andy Beal: Marketing Pilgrim
• Barry Schwartz: Cartoon Barry Blog
• Bruce Clay, Inc. Blog
• Cameron Olthuis' Blog
• Chris Hooley: ThinkBait
• Chris Winfield: 10e20
• David Burke: DaveTech
• Graywolf: Wolf Howl
• Jim Boykin: Solo Album
• John Scott: Internet Marketing Blog
• Justilien Gaspard: Justilien.com
• Kim Krause Berg: Cre8pc on SEO
• Lee Odden: Top Rank Blog
• Matt Cutts Blog: Gadgets, Google, and SEO
• Michael Roebuck's Blog
• Michael Whitaker: Yahoo! Store Blog
• Mr. SEO: Inside SEO
• Neil Patel: Pronet Advertising
• Rae Hoffman: Sugarrae
• Rob Snell: Yahoo! Store Blog
• Search Marketing Gurus
• SEO Disco
• SEO Speedwagon
• http://www.seomoz.org
• Stuntdubl
• Werty.net 4.0
• Yahoo! Store Blog

The "Weekly Reads" Folder
This folder contains the rest of the search-marketing blogs that I follow. With that said, I don't want to make it seem like these Bloggers are at the bottom of the barrel... because they're not by any means. The truth is that this group tends to either not post enough, post frequently on topics that I don't care to read about daily (but still wish to remain updated on), or are those that I've recently added to my reader and am not sure where they belong just yet. I tend to only read these Blogs once a week (typically on Friday's), but I do get a lot of great information from this group.

• BIG marketing for small business
• "Bill Slawski: SEO by the SEA
• Brian Clark: Copyblogger
• Chris Boggs: Search Marketing Thoughts
• Cristian Mezei: SEOPedia
• Danny Sullivan's Blog: Daggle
• Dave Naylor's Blog
• David Meerman Scott: Web Ink Now
• David Temple: SEM Certification Blog
• Dax: Biggnuts Blog
• Debra Mastaler: The Link Spiel
• Did-It: Frog Blog
• Frank Watson: Sem & ROI Technology
• Gord Hotchkiss: Out of My Gord
• Greg Boser: WebGuerrilla Blog
• Guy Kawasaki: Let the Good Times Roll
• Ian McAnerin: Manic Meanderings...
• In Search Of Stuff
• Jaimie Sirovich: SEO Egghead
• Jennifer Slegg: JenSense
• Jeremy Zawodny's blog
• Jill Whalen's Blog: Inspired SEO
• Joe's Cactus Diaries
• Joe's Sem Blog
• John Andrews: johnon.com
• Jonathan Mendez: Optimize & Prophesize
• Joseph Morin's Blog
• Matt Bailey: Website Accessibility Blog
• Matt McGee: Small Business SEM
• Mike Grehan Says...
• Mr. SEO: Articles Blog
• Oilman's Blog
• Paul J. Bruemmer on Search
• Search Marketing Standard Blog
• SEO BlackHat: Black Hat SEO Blog
• SEO Buzz Box
• SEO Loser
• Seth Godin's Blog
• ShandyKing
• Shoemoney's Blog: Skills to pay the bills
• SolidCactus Blog
• SoloSEO Blog
• Stephan Spencer: Scatterings
• Straight Up Search Blog
• Tamar Weinberg: TechiPedia
• TopRank Online Marketing
• UKGimp
• Vinny Lingham's Blog

And... that's that! For those of you that want some of these Blogs for yourself... you can download my OPML/XML file here:

::: Karl's Blogs :::

Anybody have any thoughts or suggestions? Is there someone that I'm not subscribed to, but should be? Feel free to tell me about your Blog... I'm always looking for new and better resources to read.

Obsessed with SPAM? If you're a Search Engine Marketer or a Google engineer then you very well might be. However, regardless of who you are, I doubt anyone is more obsessed with SPAM than my friend and colleague Alan Shupp. Alan is All Web Promotion's newest Yahoo! Store Designer, and he is absolutely obsessed with SPAM... so much so that he made this very short stop-motion video over his holiday break:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMGICzLSOis

Crazy, huh? If I didn't know Alan I would say that he and his video were borderline creepy. But, because I know him, I laugh every time I watch it.

Here's a thought... what if Alan's video were to somehow gain national attention? What if the YouTube culture began directing and shooting their own versions of SPAM videos? With just the right exposure, Alan's SPAM concept could be the next Diet Coke / Mentos phenomenon. Imagine the possibilities then.

I just caught word from Jessica, my SEO partner in crime, that Todd's Stuntdubl blog was hacked. After checking out the situation for myself, I found that it was indeed hacked and that "FuckingPirate" is the hacker behind the all the chaos.

Here's a screen-shot of the Hacked Stuntdubl website:

Apparently "FuckingPirate" is the alter-ego of a well-known WhiteHat SEO who is out to have a little fun. According to his Blog (linked from Todd's homepage) Todd's Blog won't be the only one that is hacked. Here's FP's official hit-list:

www.mattcutts.com
www.spamhuntress.com
www.shoemoney.com
www.pronetadvertising.com
www.forumtrends.com
www.askdavetaylor.com
ha.ckers.org
www.v7n.com
forums.digitalpoint.com
www.webmasterworld.com
www.seoblackhat.com
www.boogybonbon.com
www.syndk8.com
www.stuntdubl.com
www.wolf-howl.com
www.seopedia.com
www.digg.com
www.techcrunch.com www.johnchow.com
www.seobook.com
www.pearsonified.com

With a list like this, I can't help but wonder who's going to be next.

*** UPDATE ***

As I was writing this, Jessica found that Graywolf's Blog had also fallen victim to an attack. Here's a snap-shot of his Hacked Blog:

*** UPDATE (01-16-07) ***

It looks like both Todd and Graywolf are back up and running... which is something I'm glad to see.

In light of KidDisco's post, I've decided it was time for me to jump aboard the "MyBlogLog" bandwagon and create an account. Actually, the truth is that I've planned on creating a MyBlogLog account for some time now, but, as with most things, it's really hard to set aside the time needed to explore many of these social media avenues. Disco did however persuade me to act now as opposed to later. Thanks bud!

You can check out my profile and blog's community here:

Karl Ribas' Profile on MyBlogLog
The Klog Blog MyBlog Community

Now comes the task of getting community members. I mean that's whole purpose of these social media inventions... to share information with a community of friends, colleagues, or people of similar mindsets... not to mention sell them off when they get popular ($10 million is great. It's no YouTube deal... but not bad at all). So, how does one build a community? I could just sit back and let a community build itself, but that doesn't seem like much fun. Let me take another approach.

As you may recall, late last week Andy Beal of Marketing Pilgrim opened up a contest where he is giving away a free Microsoft Zune to one lucky member of his MyBlogLog community. Pure bribery is his strategy, but a pretty sweet offer nonetheless. I of course was persuaded to join.

Shortly after Andy's announcement, ShoeMoney being the contest extraordinaire that he is, fired back with his own campaign. Jeremy claims that he could gather more members to his community than Andy could by simply using an avatar photo of Nicole, a sexy blonde in a tight white "ShoeMoney" shirt. Obviously, his theory is that sex out-sells technology (and just about everything else), and frankly I'd have to agree with him. I joined his community too.

I've decided if I'm going build up my community as quickly as these guys are, I'm going to offer something cooler than a Microsoft Zune and sexier than Nicole... and I have! Here's my offer:

Simply join my community on or before February 16th (when the Andy's and Jeremy's contest ends) and you'll be eligible to win 1 of 5 signature Karl Ribas.com wooden Klogs. That's right! I'm giving away a total of 5 Klogs to 5 randomly chosen members. All you have to do to win... is join!

Alright... so my offering isn't as arousing (no pun intended... ok it was intended) as Jeremy's or as expensive as Andy's, but a Klog is still a worth-while prize. Just ask these guys:

Mr. SEO: Joe Balestrino
Michael Roebuck
Rob Snell

FYI: I've also added the traditional "MyBlogLog" widget to the bottom of the right navigation. Feel free to check that out too!

What are you waiting for... join my The Klog community.

I've got a proposition for someone, and no I don't mean that kind of proposition. I need someone to drive on over to the DMOZ offices (currently owned by AOL) and pull the plug on their poor excuse of an existence. Seriously... any takers? Someone really needs too.

DMOZ, for those of you who don't know, is a very powerful online directory (human-edited). It has a very large index of websites, lots of daily visitors / users, and offers huge rewards for those websites lucky enough to be included. However, lately they've really been sucking it up. Actually, they've been sucking for quite some time now, but it's only been recently that I've become bothered by their suckiness (I know "suckiness isn't a word - Microsoft Word already pointed that out - but work with me).

For the past few months now, DMOZ hasn't been accepting submissions. This is to say that they're not allowing new websites into their directory by way of their "submissions" page (who knows what actually goes on behind the scenes). When trying to access the directory's "suggest a URL" page the following "Service Temporarily Unavailable" error comes up instead:

As you can see from this screen-shot... this scheduled down-time was only supposed to last a day or 2. DMOZ was supposed to take a little nap while the team solved their technical problems. Ha... looks like that nap turned out to be a 3 - 4 month coma! Serves them right!

For years now, I've been submitting sites to the DMOZ directory. I do so in accordance with our SEO strategies at All Web Promotion, and also with many of my own projects too. I can honestly say that out of the 100 - 150 or so websites that I've submitted in my 3 year run in this industry that not one of them has ever been approved. That's not good. At first, I used to think that it was due to an error on my part. However, after reviewing several online articles and resources, including DMOZ's own editorial guidelines, and speaking with others in the industry regarding the matter, I've since changed my point-of-view and now point my finger directly at DMOZ. They're to blame.

The general consensus seems to be this: in order to have a website included within the DMOZ directory, one either needs to know an editor... or bribe one. Well I say to hell with that! Who needs that kind or corruption? If that's how things are going to be with DMOZ, than maybe its best that they remain in their current coma state... we'd certainly be better without them.

On a side note... I guess it just goes to show that maybe human's don't do it better!

I made it through yet another Seth Godin book; however, unlike the previous one I reviewed, "Permission Marketing" is absolutely a great read, and one that I encourage all marketers and website owners to check out.

Here is an excerpt from the book:

To gain the attention of consumers, marketers must cut through the clutter. According to "Permission Marketing", the average consumer sees about one million marketing messages a year which comes out to be about 3,000 per day. In this book, Godin explains that traditional advertising, the process of snatching ones attention away from whatever it is that he or she is doing, is no longer working. Instead, marketers and business owners should be focusing on "Permission-based" Marketing efforts which offer consumers incentives for accepting advertising voluntarily... through such things as an email newsletter for example.

By reaching out only to those individuals who have signaled an interest in learning more about a product, Permission Marketing enables companies to develop long-term relationships with customers, create trust, build brand awareness, and greatly improve the chances of making a sale.

Here are a couple of key differences between an Interruption Marketer and one that uses Permission Marketing:

• An Interruption Marketer looks for a job by sending a resume to 1000 strangers. A Permission Marketer gets a job by focusing on one company and networking with it, consulting for it, and working with it until the company trusts him enough to offer him a full-time position.



• A book publisher that uses Interruption Marketing sells children's books by shipping them to bookstores, hoping that the right audience will stumble across them. A Permission Marketer builds book clubs at every school in the country.



• An Interruption Marketer sells a new product by introducing it on national TV. A Permission Marketer sells a new product by informing all his existing customers about a how to get a free sample.

Looking for a way to increase your revenue/business? If so, I recommend reading "Permission Marketing" by Seth Godin for a thorough explanation, as well as ideas, for marketing through permission, and not through interruption. I rate this book 5 Klogs (out of a possible 5).

Imagine how effective your marketing would be if you had individual relationships with all of your customers and each had agreed to receive your company's advertising, either because they want the information or because they've been tempted by an incentive.

I just wanted to take a quick second and announce a new addition / resource to the Klog Blog. In honor of my recent interview with Rob Snell, and of course those that I did month's prior to his, I've created an "Industry Interviews" page. This page is set to reference all of my past search-related interviews, such as those I did with Todd Malicoat, Michael Roebuck, and Joe Balestrino, as well as any future interviews I happen to publish.

I've added a link for the new "Industry Interviews" page to the main Blog Navigation section on the right-hand side. Please feel free to have yourself a look if you haven't done so already... there are several industry insider tips, tricks, and take-a-ways with each of these interviews.

Click here for the Industry Interviews page.

Welcome to the first Klog post of 2007! I hope everyone had an enjoyable New Year's weekend and one that was full of good-thoughts, laughter, and, of course, plenty of alcoholic consumption. I certainly had my fair share of all three on Sunday night! Ok... maybe I had more than my fair share, but what the hell... it's a brand new year, right?

Well, as it turns out, I had plenty of reasons to celebrate the New Year this past weekend. While I was home yesterday, relaxing and nursing the little bit of a hangover I had, I spent a few hours digging through my website's stats and analytics. I guess I'm a nerd in that fashion... always managing to find ways to work when I should be relaxing, but hey... that's me. Anyway, what started off to be a quick search for my Blog's top 10 posts, which I'll be disclosing in a minute or two, turned out to be a complete analysis of the entire 2006 year.

After a thorough review, I found that my subscription-base / readership is up nearly 700% since the beginning of last year. In addition to that, my monthly unique visitor count also shares a similar upward incline. To be honest, I guess I've always known that I was gaining in readership, but to actually see December's numbers and compare them to those of last January's is quite shocking to me. I'm very much amazed to see just how much progress this Blog has made in such a short amount of time. I'm absolutely ecstatic to no-end.

Anyway, enough about all of that... lets move on shall we? Before I move forward and bring to you whatever new information, commentary, rants, and updates that the SEM industry promises to bring in 2007, I want to take this time and reflect back on what this past year has brought us... or at least in regards to my Blog and the search engine marketing industry. As the title of this post alludes to... I want to highlight the top 10 Klog posts of 2006. Certainly I feel that there are more then 10... I did publish over 115 this year, but I think 10 makes for a good list.

And with that... here are the top 10 posts of 2006 (or at least in terms of user-participation, number of views, and my personal opinion). If you're recently new to the Klog... have yourself a peek at some of what you may have missed, and if you've been reading all year long... take a second to reminisce a little:

• Learning From Jackie -- 12.15.2006
  I've come across a source that I feel is worth looking into... her name is Jackie, and what she can indirectly teach us about Search Engine Marketing is worth a conference Badge.
  
  
• Learning From Sony's Mistakes -- 11.20.2006
  By now, you all are aware that Sony and Nintendo launched their newest consoles over the weekend: the PS3 on Friday and Wii on Sunday. Find out which one I got.
  
  
• Google vs. Bush Administration -- 01.20.2006
  In an attempt to measure the amount of child pornography on the Internet federal prosecutors have subpoenaed Google to hand over millions of search records.
  
  
• I Does What I Does -- 02.03.2006
  Working in an industry such as search marketing and website design definitely takes its toll on me. There is a lot to know and a lot more to learn.
  
  
• An Interview with Rob Snell -- 12.22.2006
  Today I'll be chatting with my good friend and fellow Yahoo! Store designer Rob Snell of Snell Brothers. Rob is a very well known expert in the field of Yahoo! Store design.
  
  
• Do Students Want Google Rollin Wiki Style -- 03.17.2006
  (Written by Jessica Guadiana) So Google has been rumored to hook up with Wikipedia. Could they finally be taking the final steps towards a full partnership?
  
  
• Can You Guarantee #1 in Google -- 04.13.2006
  The one thing that bothers me most about being in this industry is when a potential client asks "Can you guarantee us number 1 in Google?" Check out my response.
  
  
• 100th Blog Post -- 07.16.2006
  Once again its time to dust off those Champaign glasses, pop open bubbly, and celebrate! If you didn't happen to catch it from the title... this is my 100th Blog post.
  
  
• The Google Story -- 05.12.2006
  So I finally got around to purchasing and thus reading "The Google Story", the book which takes readers inside the creation and growth of Google. Read my review.
  
  
• YSM: "Dropping the Ball" -- 02.17.2006
  I hadn't planned on today's post being a "rant", but after talking with a few of my colleagues this morning, it only seems right that I address some of our issues.
  
  

And there you go... in closing I want to send out a very meaningful 'thank you' to all of you who read this Blog. It's been a true-pleasure to share with you my insights on the various topics of search marketing and website development, and I'm very happy to be apart of your weekly read. Let it be known that I do not get paid for this gig (not even with Google Adsense)... it's actually something I do on the side, which proves the fact that I really do write for the betterment of my readers.

I wish you all a happy and prosperous new year in 2007!