The "Rip Off Report" (ROR) is a site that aims to help consumers spread the word about dishonest businesses, scams and possible rip-offs, but Chris Bennett takes them to task for what he calls SEO spam and gaming Google's algorithm. As a source of constantly renewed user-generated content, the ROR has hundreds of thousands of pages that can make it into Google's index. According to Compete data, Google refers nearly 610,000 searchers to the ROR each month--with the referrals stemming from roughly 5,700 different keywords. But since the ROR doesn't censor or fact-check these user complaints, Bennett argues …

During a recent Search Marketing Now Webcast, Chris Sherman dove into the perils and best practices of managing PPC campaigns for massive sites. This kind of campaign management requires clearly defined goal-setting, leadership and buy-in from all marketing departments, as well as the use of automated tools whenever possible. Often, handling paid search for major sites means running both direct response and brand-focused campaigns, so making sure that the PPC ads gel with the other on- and offline messages is key. Sherman added that the paid search data could be used for creative message testing for offline …

David Rodnitzky serves up a list of AdWords "tricks" to help edge out the competition, starting with starting with signing up for Google Checkout. If you have an e-commerce business, take advantage of the free "graphic" that comes along with offering Google Checkout as a payment option. While the search giant currently doesn't offer graphics (beyond a few company logos) in AdWords, businesses that support Google Checkout get the large and colorful logo next to their sponsored link. According to Rodnitzky, studies have shown that the Google Checkout logo can increase CTRs by between 20-30%. Rodnitzky …

Richard MacManus is publisher of the ReadWriteWeb Network of blogs, a group of successful tech-focused Websites that include Alt Search Engines, as well as the namesake blog. ReadWriteWeb has built up equity within the search and dot-com communities--so naturally someone took note of it and sought to profit from that popularity. "I am going to launch ReadWriteWeb.mobi, the mobile version of ReadWriteWeb optimized for viewing on a mobile phone," said a Mr. Sobolev, a Russia-based Web entrepreneur, via email. "Thought you might be interested." MacManus was quite interested, and what followed was a series of emails …

According to George Michie, many PPC account managers pay too much attention to testing and changing their ad copy. Often tinkering with ad copy can actually drag down Quality Scores, as Google grades keyword and copy block combinations on the basis of whether they've worked before. If you have a relatively well-performing combo and change it in the hopes of making it even better, the change will immediately lower the ad's position or bump up the CPC--and you lose the original Quality Score. Of course, if the new combo does perform better, then it was worth the slight dip, …

Perhaps you (or your client) don't have the time or budget to sit with a Web designer and craft a custom site--so you turn to one of the many template programs to get property up and running on the cheap. Bo Sandkvist says that you should make sure that the template isn't so ubiquitous that the site is indistinguishable from competitors'. "Your Website will not appear unique at all and your reputation as a solid, different Website will be tarnished," he writes. On the other hand, you don't want to spend too much time and energy tweaking the template--since …

A recent post by Wiep Knol entitled "How to Build Links for Crappy Websites" sparked a discussion in the Sphinn community, and Tamar Weinberg sums it up in her post here. Search marketers are often faced with the task of driving traffic and building links to a sub-par site--even after telling the client that changes need to be made. Some in the discussion said that making those changes should be top priority, either by adding quality articles, or subtly manipulating the site's structure or layout. But if the client won't budge, others suggested buying other …

Paid search managers, if you're tired of the "Intro to AdWords" panels and two-session "PPC breakout" tracks at online marketing conferences, Mark Curtis says that you should think about attending the PPC Summit. The two-day conference is completely focused on paid search advertising, with tracks like "Setting up and Optimizing Campaigns: The Checklist," "Landing Page Testing and Tuning," and "Expanding Search Engine Coverage to Smaller Engines." Curtis says that the summit is for PPC beginners and experts, corporate, in-house and search firm managers, as well as small business owners themselves. The two sessions coming up next …

Using a list of 10 auto insurance info Web sites, Patrick Altoft aims to illustrate that Webmasters are still using paid links to drive traffic and boost PageRank--and that this technique may be one of the best (or only) ways to compete in such a particularly competitive niche. Some may call it "outing," and others may call it plain old investigative journalism, but Altoft includes the link analysis (via the "-site:" search parameter) of each site, and points to the fact that some of their inbound links come from properties with no good reason to link to them--other …

Yes, it is, says Brian Chappell. The second edition of MarketingSherpa's Landing Page Handbook contains more than enough info to justify its seemingly heavy ($500) price tag. Instead of just providing strategic guidance and tips for testing and optimizing landing pages, the handbook uses case studies and statistics to back up its findings. In addition, MarketingSherpa offers insight into crafting landing pages for various types of online channels--including Webinars, e-mail campaigns, blogs, podcasts and even mobile landing pages. Chappell gives a few examples of some of the more concrete learnings that come from the handbook as well, like …