"Word-of-mouth traffic can be some of the best, most qualified visitors to your site," says Joy Brazelle. "But, how do you actually know if you are getting traffic from word-of-mouth?" Brazelle says to dig deeper into your direct traffic stats, particularly branded keywords and non-search referrals. For example, direct site visitors either know your URL and type it directly into their browser, or have your site bookmarked. "As your brand becomes part of more and more conversations, the number of visitors who will know your URL will increase," she says. You should also monitor your branded keyword stats, as visitors …

Bernard Lunn argues that one giant "Google-killer" may not emerge--but that the giant may eventually be chopped down by a combination of number of smaller, more nimble engines and overarching market forces. For example, VC's continue to pump money into core search startups--to the tune of sums like the $25 million that Cuill snagged in April. While such strong investment is not what you'd expect in a "consolidated market with one mighty big gorilla sitting on top," Lunn says that innovators will keep trying as long as the money train continues to chug along. Meanwhile, there's still room …

Jennifer Osborne lays out some of the most common mistakes she's seen small business owners make with their paid search accounts, starting with not bothering to adjust the default account settings chosen by Google or Yahoo. While the AdWords interface is "awesome" and their customer service "rocks," Osborne says that the defaults are set to maximize Google's revenue--not yours. "Sometimes that means that you'll make a lot of money too," she says. "But sometimes it means that you will not be running as efficient a campaign as you could be." PPC account holders also seem to struggle with geographic targeting--and …

Coming up with interesting, keyword-rich articles on a consistent basis isn't the easiest task for Web site owners (particularly if they're small business owners more focused on actually running the business). But Patrick Winfield has some tips for developing link-worthy content, and it starts with researching the heck out of a particular topic. First, set up a Google Alert so that you can be notified whenever there's breaking news, or a new blog post or video uploaded for the topic of choice. Winfield also suggests trolling the comment streams of relevant blogs, as the discussions can often "be a huge …

The Online Marketing Boot Camp gets underway today in Burlington, Vermont. Over the course of four days, attendees get schooled on the nuts and bolts of Google Analytics (GA), e-commerce metrics and social media. Web analytics firm Epik, Champlain College and Google Analytics have all partnered to host the course, and instructors include industry vets like Avinash Kaushik and MyWebGrocer's Alec Newcomb, as well as members of the GA team. To facilitate maximum face time, there are only 70 spots in the camp. The first day, panelists wax poetic about the intricacies of analytics in standard conference style. The following …

Most link-building articles focus on ways to generate inbound links from other sites--as the quantity and quality of external links play a big part in a site's overall rankings. But as Scott Allen notes, "contextual internal links can also be effective in helping to improve a site's rankings for targeted key phrases." The logic behind internal link building (called "PageRank sculpting" by some) is that each page in a Web site has a given amount of link juice it can transfer. By directing it, you can strengthen a particular page's overall ranking (i.e. your homepage or a particular product …

Web site owners keep hearing/reading/seeing "content is king," so it's no wonder that more than a few have been duped by content scraping services shilling syndicated articles. But the problem with these articles, Christopher Carlson notes, is that they've likely been posted all over the Web already--garnering the purchaser little-to-no SEO benefit, and possibly even scoring them duplicate content penalties. So what do you say when your client suggests buying syndicated articles, in an attempt to adhere to the "content is king" mantra? Carlson suggests explaining that content is king, but unique content is better. And while the process of …

Rafi Farber gives two health search engines a test run when he finds out that a dear friend has psoriasis. In search of alternative remedies to the "very goopy" and "excessive" shampoo and ointment her doctor has prescribed, Farber starts his quest with iMedix. Israel-based iMedix offers articles on a plethora of diseases and ailments, complete with a correct-as-you-go spellchecker, to boost a user's chance of finding the info their after. "Secondly, iMedix gives you a network of people who are interested in the same disease," Farber says. "It's like Facebook for diseases." Meanwhile, Trusera is more community-focused, as it …

OK, so Michael Arrington doesn't go so far as to say that Google has become evil this year, but he does argue that 2008 will likely be the year that the search giant loses its "innocence" in terms of media and government perception. Google's DoubleClick acquisition took nearly a year's worth of scrutiny from regulators (particularly in Europe) before it was cleared, and Arrington reports that U.S. politicians are already "lining up" to examine the proposed Yahoo outsourcing deal. Not to mention the fact that some in the media are drawing attention to Google's default search box status in Firefox. …