SEMPO has been running its SEMPO Institute education program for a year now. Danny Sullivan notes that the Institute is one of the few search training organizations that offers actual exercises and tutorials to give both beginners and more advanced search marketers a way to verify proficiency -- and some measure of hands-on experience. SEMPO plans to continue to roll out new courses for the Institute in the coming months. Sullivan also lists four other sources of hands-on search training, including Bruce Clay (who offers classes on PPC, SEO and Web analytics for seasoned vets and newbies), The …

Think there can't possibly be another set of landing page best practices? Think again. This five-spot of tips comes from Widemile, a Seattle-based tech marketing startup, and optimization analyst Billy Shih serves them up with a distinctly testing and design-influenced bent. "Keep it focused," Shih says, and force each landing page to have only one goal. If two goals can't be avoided then make sure only one is emphasized, and remove excess baggage like ads and nav bars. Create a situation where users have only two choices -- convert or leave. Make sure the landing page …

Jeff Hudson waited almost two months to respond to a post on Steve Rubel's Micro Persuasion blog about an imminent PPC recession -- but his rebuttal is thoughtful and provides a point-by-point critique of all of Rubel's main points. Referring to clutter, Hudson said that the engines are actively working to make sure only the best ads get served with each search. After all, Google's continued focus on the "user experience" and the constant tweaking of Quality Score metrics have to be impacting the number of ads that show up. In terms of the move toward CPA …

New Zealand's Yellow Pages Group turned down a deal with Google to have its business listings included in Google Maps last year -- and now the search giant has inked a deal with smaller IYP firm apnfinda Limited. But Yellow Pages is "reasonably relaxed" about Google's position as a competitor in terms of the local search and mapping market in New Zealand -- since the company believes that its listings are more comprehensive than apnfinda's (which launched as a merger between APN Infomedia and finda Group in March). According to Tom Pullar-Strecker, Yellow Pages has a …

Whether you're a freelance search consultant or working under the umbrella of a search firm, chances are that as your business grows, you'll need to do some traveling. With interstate travel, down time in airports is almost inevitable -- and the Search Mojo team is no stranger to the trials of working at the airport. Whether its lack of Internet access, awkward seating or the virtually nonexistent power outlets, airport waiting area structures typically don't lend themselves well to getting computer work done. Nonetheless, the Search Mojo team serves up a list of the top four search marketer-friendly …

The ROI Revolution team has compiled a second list of ads for its "Funny AdWords Contest," and wants your votes for the top 3. The list features 10 text ads with title or body copy that makes you laugh out loud (or scratch your head) -- most likely as a result of dynamic text insertion. The list includes ads for "Trash" and "New Babies" from Target, the options to "Sell Your Soul" or get a "New Brain" on eBay -- and most importantly, "Buy Love" at Amazon.com. Winners of the last round included the option to "Sell …

You may be above using black-hat tactics to maintain a client's site, but what happens when a competitor's dirty SEO tricks have a negative impact on all the hard work you've done? According to Diane Aull, dealing with a black-hat bully is much like dealing with a playground bully -- and she offers a strategy for handling them pulled right out of a grade school handbook. The first step is to make sure that the negative effects (be it loss of traffic, poor conversions or other metrics) aren't a result of your own missteps. Combing your site's …

New data from Netconcepts' Gravity Stream service found that there are really five "Cyber Mondays" during the holiday season. Organic search traffic has continued to grow from one Monday to the next, with an average of 14.5% growth week-over-week this holiday season -- compared to 9% during the same time period last year. And by using data from the past few weeks (as well as from pervious years), Netconcepts is pegging Dec. 17 to be the busiest Monday in terms of search volume.

Retrevo and ShoppingVale are two comparison shopping engines that specialize in consumer electronics, so Charles Knight had them face off on several criteria. In terms of driving traffic, ShoppingVale's strategy is primarily focused on paid search, as the shopping engine is running PPC campaigns on all three of the big engines. Meanwhile, Retrevo's traffic strategy is more SEO-based, but also focuses on getting users to evangelize the service themselves. In terms of what makes Retrevo a better choice than core search or searching via a retailer's site, the company says that its service algorithmically analyzes products …

No less than three SEM automation tech firms launched this year, and we'll likely see more contenders emerge in 2008. And why not? The promise of effectively managing PPC campaigns, tweaking bids and maximizing the ROAS without having to do all of that granular analysis has appeal for both huge companies and mom-and-pop shops. But OneUpWeb's Drew notes that while SEM automation packages offer less stress and low cost optimization, their lack of personalized, human management severely limits their value. Some SEM tech firms give business owners a false sense of security, allowing them to think …