Run for the hills if someone says he's a Google Authorized AdWords consultant. Tom explains no such certification exist. He says too many companies fall for that line, so he'll explain what the actual certification names are. Google AdWords Certified Individual is the easiest to earn, he writes. Others include Google AdWords Certified Company, Google Analytics Authorized Consultant, and Google Website Optimizer Authorized Consultant.

Keyword lists drive PPC campaigns. Each time keywords trigger your ad on Google, the bidding starts again, even if searchers don't click on the links. Figuring out how to roll with the changes and identify the correct keywords as targets change isn't easy. Joe reviews two new Google tools--Wonder Wheel and Related Search--that can help expand keyword list and find the niches you may have missed. Joe calls Google's Wonder Wheel a "helpful and insightful tool" for PPC keyword research. Placing the words "Organic Gardening Supplies" in the hub of the wheel, Joe demonstrates how the tool allows you …

Yahoo has unveiled a Common Tag format that makes Web content more discoverable. Vanessa Fox explains that Yahoo calls it a "new semantic tagging format" base on a RDFa vocabulary. The Common Tag About page also suggests it fits into standards all major search engines will support. Fox questions why anyone would want to use the Common Tag format. She writes that none of the major search engines use semantic markup in Web search. Google is using existing standards (microformats and RDFa) to display enhanced listings. Both Google and Yahoo have told Fox they could use metadata …

The ability to manage increasing SEM complexity across multiple engines, address complex consumer behavior, and scale the business without scaling resource: These are some of the features Kenshoo offers, according to Brian Carter. Carter details Kenshoo's tools and practices. He believes the tools work "exceptionally well" to help restructure existing account complexity into tighter ad group structures, and create bid rules and custom algorithms for more frequent and efficient optimization. Among the features he reviews include dynamic ad creation based on crawler findings and templates, as well as bid algorithms, conversion paths and attributions.

Ron Jones provides several tips for crafting high-performing ad copy and methods for testing its effectiveness. It all starts with knowung how the ad fits into the search process. Writing relevant ads requires you to create ad groups with as few keywords as possible that are centered on a strong theme. People typically create only one or two ad groups and put hundreds or thousands of keywords in them, which makes it difficult to write effective ad copy that will represent all of those keywords.

John Andrews lists 10 myths about Google Analytics, in response to Google's self-published blog post of what the company claims is the "Top Ten Myths About Google Analytics." He calls the Google list self-serving and opportunistic since it highlights myths "seemingly designed to highlight features they want to promote" -- not the same top 10 that come to mind for Andrews and his clients. Andrews writes, "I thought Google had more integrity than this."

Have you ever felt the frustration of being priced out of the market on a keyword? That sometimes happens when managing small PPC accounts. Brian Wallace suggests relying on day-parting to cut across multiple mirrored campaigns. This way you can make sure you get exposure at different parts of the day. He steps through the process of setting up the campaign. Start in Google's reporting interface. There you can run an hourly report any time of day at the campaign level. The goal is not to get more impressions or clicks for the sake of getting traffic, he …

Google has filed a patent application on sentiment analysis, according to Bill Slawski. The patent application, published May 14, provides some information about how Google might actually choose text from reviews to present in query results. One document focuses on how different words or terms that may appear in reviews have completely different meanings when applied to a variety of products or services. Slawski provides examples from the abstract of the patent. He also ties in a presentation at Google's Searchology conference where Matt Cutts describes a new feature, sentiment analysis, being used by Google.

Should you mix business with pleasure in the landscape of social media? Jennifer Laycock has blurred the two for years, sharing her daily diet plan with the SEO industry while dropping nearly 20 pounds for charity. Basically, she admits, her business and personal personas have been one and the same, but she has mixed feelings about the strategy. On one hand, a bad experience can throw you into seclusion. On the other hand, personal connections strengthen online bonds. In fact, Laylock believes that mixing business and pleasure can also help you connect more strongly and faster with valuable …

Tad Chef serves up a slew of resources meant to make the job of SEO professionals easier. Categories discussed include Web design development, analytics, content creation, link acquisition, social media, new markets, and more. Clicking on the "Landing page optimization for organic search" link redirects to a Search Engine Land article that discusses optimizing for conversions in organic search results. Chef also provides references to RageRank sculpting and IP delivery. And while these tactics have an "undeniably positive" impact on your SEO efforts, some might debate whether they are considered advanced SEO tactics at all.