I just read on the Yahoo! Store Blog that the Design Wizard was updated today. Changes include:

• 14 New Color Palette Options (now totaling 56)
• 2 New Pre-Designed Templates (now totaling 12)
• Dynamic Header-Background Sizing
• Yahoo! Sponsored Search Tag Support

Very cool updates indeed.

I think the "Sponsored Search Tag" integration is a freakin' sweet addition. Now Yahoo! Store owners can automatically set this feature up (probably as easy as setting up a Google Sitemap or Yahoo! Site Explorer with a Yahoo! Store) and begin tracking the sales their store receives on the account of their Yahoo! Search Marketing PPC campaigns. Lets face it... knowing which Pay Per Click keywords are bringing in the sales and which are just costing valuable ad dollars is very valuable information. The Yahoo! Store team just made it that much easier for you to get it.

According to my buddy Paul Boisvert, this update is one of a few planned in upcoming months:

Paul, Jimmy, Michael, and the rest of the Yahoo! Store gang are always working hard and putting out quality products. I'm certainly looking forward to these future updates.

Michael recently returned from Mexico (from a quote / unquote business trip) and brought back some really cool souvenirs. In addition to countless bottles of Tequila, most of which were for my cube-mate Kelly (shhh... she's has a bit of a drinking problem... just kidding Kel), was a really cool authentic Lucha Libre mask (it's a signature mask used by several notable Mexican and Japanese professional wrestlers). A quick shout-out goes out to the little boys and girls who work in the Mexican Sweat Shops... the stitching is a little off, but it's a finely made product nonetheless.

Here's my good friend Greg "The Hammer" (nicknamed "The Hammer" for inappropriate reasons in which I can't share with you on this Blog) showcasing the mask:

Michael's planning a return quote / unquote business trip back to Mexico later this March in which I have asked him to grab 5 others just like this. I, my brother Ken, and some of my really close friends have scored tickets to this year's WrestleMania in Detroit, and now plan on wearing them during the event. It promises to be a great time.

Alright... the moment that everyone's been waiting for (well at least 18 people anyway) is here. The "Win a Klog" contest has ended, and I have taken the names of my Blog's community members and have thrown them into a hat (a French Beret if you must know). Here are the 5 "lucky" winners who will be receiving a signature "Karl Ribas.com Blog" Klog.

Drum roll please!

1) Barry Welford (BWelford)
2) Kid Disco (kid_disco)
3) Chris Hooley (Search Student)
4) Jessica Guadiana (Guadi-600) (wow... that's going to look bad)
5) Chris Winfield (chris-winfield)

And because it's always fun to draw 1 additional name to promote the first loser of any contest... the #6 pick is... ... ... ... Lisa Barone (LisaBarone). Ohhhh and so close Lisa. I'm sorry... I know how much you really wanted one too.

Guys... if you would be so kind to email me (karl [at] karlribas.com) your mailing address... I'll put these in the mail early next week. Jessica, "heads up"... yours will be coming over the cube wall!

A "thanks" goes out to everyone who participated. I had a blast, and hope you all did as well. I'll certainly be giving away more Klogs just as soon as I come across an excuse to do so.

In case you didn't catch the announcement from Li's post earlier this week, I've accepted a position as a supplemental writer for her "Search Marketing Gurus" Blog, and will be authoring an occasional search and design related post every now and again. I'm a big fan of her Blog, as I think it is a great resource for both n00b and seasoned search marketers. I'm really excited to be joining their team and look forward to participating. Hopefully, I'll be able to write up to the standards that Li and her co-authors have set.

Earlier today, I published my very first post titled "Using Analogies to Explain the Benefits of SEO", in which I explained the difficulties that sometimes exist when speaking with potential clients. SEO is indeed a complicated subject to those outside of our industry, and finding and using analogies to help explain the importance of SEO and its role in a successful web presence has been very helpful to me. Maybe it can be helpful to you as well.

Here's a little excerpt from my post:

"Creating a website, essentially an online store, is obviously the first component of a successful online presence. It is not the only component, but an important one to say the least. Another component, which is equally important, is the marketing of a website. Seeing how millions of internet users use search engines as their tool for navigating the web, it's extremely important for websites to not only appear among those listed in the results, but to appear high enough to attract this targeted traffic."

Be sure to check it out. Oh, and if you're not currently subscribed to the "Search Marketing Gurus" Blog, you may want to consider doing so. There's lots of great search-related news, updates, and commentary being published daily!

I just saw on Andy's Blog that this is the last week for his "Win a Zune" contest, and seeing how I'm riding his coat tail with my "Win a Klog" contest... I guess this is the last week for that too.

What is a Klog exactly, and why on earth would you want one? Here's a description:

"These high quality and brilliantly hand-crafted wooden shoes are artistically engraved with "Klog" creating a distinctive Karl Ribas.com Blog gift. The "Klog" shoe has been a trademark of the Karl Ribas.com Blog since May of 2006 and is loved and cherished by all. This gift is valued at whopping $4.95, but can be yours for FREE."

Lol... and with that said, make your way on over to my community page and become a member. I'll be drawing 5 names to win 1 Klog each after Friday the 16th.

In his most recent post, Neil Patel of Pronet Advertising has issued an open challenge to Jason Calacanis, the man who has made such claims as "SEO is Bullshit" and that "90% of the SEO market is made up of snake oil salesman". Jason, without much hesitation, has accepted.

The challenge:

The Goal:

What ultimately lies in the Balance is not only Neil's reputation as a search marketer, but he inevitably carries our industries reputation with him as well. Neil, in my opinion, is one of our industry's best, and should he not be able meet the expectations of his own challenge, what would that imply about the rest of us.

In any event, "kudos" goes out to you Neil for a couple of reasons:

1. Being one of the few to step-up and address these claims.

2. Offering a "Put Up or Shut Up" solution, instead of a post that bad-mouths Jason's beliefs.

3. Fighting the fight, when you know your right (the Hulk Hogan Methodology)

4. For just being a "Bad-Ass".

Good luck bud.

Here's the plot:

A princess of a very popular place has been kidnapped by a large and powerful dragon. Oh, and just not any dragon... the most feared and hated of all dragons. This dragon has been terrorizing her kingdom and kingdoms like hers for years now. Needless to say, the dragon is a huge threat, and the princess remains helpless and in need of rescuing.

If this were your story, and going with what I've just given you, who would you cast to be the hero(s)? Who would you send out to find and save the beloved princess, slay the evil dragon, and bring peace to all the lands?

• Her father, the king, and his guards
• Her brother, a prince and his loyal followers
• Her love interest, a prince, and his men
• The knights of the round-table, sworn to protect her
• An ancient, magic-wielding wizard

Who would it be?

Well, for Shigeru Miyamoto of Nintendo, it would be a couple of over-weight, fire-ball throwing, and warp-pipe mastering plumbers in red and green over-alls. Doesn't make for an exciting story... or does it? Enter Mario and Luigi, the Mario brothers. They're just your average "Joes" and they've been saving Princess Peach Toadstool and the Mushroom Kingdom from the evil dragon Bowser Koopa since 1985.

The story of the Mario Brothers absolutely rocks to no end! These characters have been featured in dozen's of Nintendo titles and scenarios, and are legendary icons in the world of video games. Simply put... Mario and Luigi are the Dahlia Llamas of the gaming industry.

A couple of years ago, while I was brushing up on my Adobe Illustrator skills, I created this uber-cool poster. (Sorry... the picture's not straight and a plastic cover is creating a glare... but you'll get the point).

I have a copy of this poster hanging on my cube wall (yes... I work in a cubicle) as a constant reminder that success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to be different and break the barriers of traditional concepts.

If you consider the time of when "Super Mario Bros." was created, it was quite common to see a game that featured a damsel in distress and a knight in shining armor. Never was the knight in shining armor a short, chubby commoner. It was always a tall, handsome hero with ties to royalty. In the midst of Nintendo's huge NES console launch (the videogame system that would ultimately change the gaming industry forever) they decided to headline an innovative game that broke those traditions... and it worked. 22 years later, Mario and Luigi games continue to fly off the shelves and Nintendo continues to profit.

"To think that Nintendo Bet the house on a couple of Plumbers"

Does your company offer new and innovative products or services, or do you follow the same old traditions set forth by those before you?

My colleague Jessica and I were scheduled to be in Chicago today for a 1-day Yahoo! Search Marketing seminar, but half way into our trip we experienced some horrendous winter-weather driving conditions (aka snow-fall, wind, and a million semi-trucks kicking up snow and blinding us) and we were forced to turn around and return to the office.

The seminar was to be about Yahoo's new ad platform (project Panama) and their new ad-ranking system... both are topics that I really wanted to dive into. I'm really bummed that we missed it. Oh well!

Some of the highlights of the trip included:

• Being scared from seeing the multiple car's that were in the ditches
  
  
• An emergency stop at a rest-stop to clear my windshield and wiper blades (To which Karl kept repeating "I can't see! I can't see!" - Jessica)
  
  
• Jamming out to Mexican music (we don't speak or understand Spanish) (Ciento Siete punto Nueve! - Jessica)
  
  
• Jessica grabbing the "Oh Shit Bar" every time we couldn't see the vehicle in front of us
  

And proof that the trip wasn't a complete loss... a White Castle "Crave Case":

Party on Jessica! (Party on Karl - Jessica) (Air Guitar Solos)