Dear Valued Customer,
We’ve had a blast the past month attending Schmooza Palooza 2009 (have you seen the photos?) and preparing for our next seminar, SEM: 101. So this month we thought we’d pop quiz your SEO skills; grading is kept confidential, we promise. Keep your thinking cap on when you’re finished though; our SEO article gives a thought-provoking insight into data analysis for your search engine optimization campaigns. After you’ve done all the learning, sit back and let us entertain you: if you could use a break in the A/C, some sweet refreshments, free marketing advice, and a little SEM skill sharpening you’ll want to make your seminar reservation today.

Not to be outdone with all of the fun we’ve been having, Microsoft rolled out a new search engine called Bing! You may have heard about it, and even witnessed some of the back and forth between the Love-its and the Hate-its – but we’re cutting through the hype and giving you the lowdown on what you can expect.

It’s a great kickoff to the summer advertising season and we can’t wait to show you how we can heat up your online marketing!

True or False: Test Your PPC Know-it-All Skills Here

Following right along with our message about the next NetSearch Direct seminar: SEM 101, we thought we’d give you a little quiz so you can gauge your PPC knowledge – just in case you might be hesitant to add your name to the list of guests. Maybe you’re thinking that you’re above a 101-level seminar. Or, perhaps you don’t want to get into the nitty-gritty fundamentals of search engine marketing because it’s just too overwhelming. Friends, we promise you that a NetSearch Direct seminar is neither underwhelming, or overwhelming; we invite you to flex your PPC knowledge with us now and then decide if you should be dialing up our seminar organizer as fast as you can to save your seat.

If you attend the SEM: 101 seminar you’ll get a mini-crash course in SEO and leave with a few extra tricks in your organic ranking bag. (You do have one, right?) So we’re going to give you a break on the pop quizzes and talk about analytics and your SEO campaign. What do you track? How do you measure success in rankings? Should you measure success in rankings? Knowing what drives traffic to your site, which keywords work best for you, and a host of other analytical data is half the battle to a successful SEO site.

National Statistics

New Search Engine Launch: Windows Live becomes … Bing!

Microsoft’s revamp of their search engine Windows Live surprised everyone with an early launch in early June. Press releases from Microsoft labeled the new engine as a “decision engine” that would reshape internet searching as we knew it. For instance, Bing! began by organizing search results and grouping those results by category on the left-hand navigation, instead of just listing links by ranking popularity. Bing! also deployed a Shopping feature which organized the searched product by price, specifications, and consumer reviews. Instead of reading through each listing and mentally comparing one site’s offering to the other, Bing! organizes Shopping results so that consumers only concerned with a certain feature can easily filter through results. An awesome feature to test out just in time for Father’s Day this month.