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Highlights of Search Marketing Standard - Vol. I, Issue I
May 10, 2006
With 15,000 subscribers already under its belt (and for a yearly subscription fee of $0, why aren't you one of them?), the first issue of Search Marketing Standard magazine hit my virtual actual In box yesterday. Following are some observations - a hastily crafted mix of humorous and serious - but each one true.
For the uninitiated, Search Marketing Standard is our little industry's first major print periodical.
- At 36 pages (including covers), about half of which are ads, I think this is a good start for a publication that many viewed skeptically upon its announcement.
- "Collectively, page views are a good metric for site popularity" (page 8).
- I was a little disappointed that nearly every article was devoted to PPC. Maybe I should have expected that, but I was hoping organic SEO would get a little real estate.
- An article debunking SEM myths (page 12) leads off with an entry that says "any search engine that tries to lure you into a contract based on a huge number of searches is probably lying, or may at best be using a very loose interpretation of the word 'searches'." Six pages later, a full-page ad for a PPC engine tries to lure you into a contract based on a huge number of searches.
- With its landscape-style full-page ad, those crazy cats over at Kinetic Results are trying to make everyone think you're reading a porno mag.
- If someone tries to sell you a domain for $3000 and they claim it makes $20,000 per day, they might be lying (page 16).
- Most SEM agencies are really REALLY bad at creating print ads.
- 19 different SEM/technology/tradeshow companies advertised in this issue. Some clearly used URLs and toll-free numbers that enabled source tracking. Many did not. Come on, people - don't get sloppy.
- Jim Bouton will be at Affiliate Summit East - July 9-11, Orlando (inside back cover). I will not, because I was sure I had a 1968 Topps card of his, but now I can't find it.
- Grammarians take note: "Zunch" is now a verb (back cover).
All posts by Erik Dafforn
posted by Erik Dafforn at May 10, 2006 02:51 PM
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Comments
Still laughing...crying...
So you noticed the ad...huh?
My stomach hurts...
Posted by: Giovanni Gallucci at May 16, 2006 11:47 AM
Thanks for the porn reference, Erik Speed-Demon. (We were actually hoping to avoid that association this time around.)
But the thought was..."It's a search magazine that won't likely be viewed by too many outside of our space (hence everyone's initial skepticism about the mag)and if it is viewed by potential clients - let's stand out in some way."
"Everyone who advertises in this thing," I said, "Will be saying the same old crap...'Mazimize ROI, increase traffic, leads, sales - search engine friendly this that and the other thing! Hurry! Act now! Your competition is going to kick your ass! Have a bigger, meatier "presence" that people will take note of!'"
So, we thought it would be fun to make them flip the magazine 90 degrees to read our ad.
Posted by: Dave at May 16, 2006 11:56 AM
So from this I take you were not too crazy about the content in the first issue... We had a lot of requests asking for more advanced topics and more SEO related articles so the next issue should have enough of both. The next issue will also be thicker, so far we estimate 48 pages.
Thanks for taking your time to review out publication.
Posted by: Andrey Milyan at May 17, 2006 08:18 PM