Welcome to SageRock.com Web Marketing Blog

Do you yodel?
Yahoo! Searches for Yodeler

You may be aware that there is a new trend of companies spying on you to collect information. These programs can also create popups on your computer based on phrases you search for on major search engines.

I happen to be a person who is fairly open to companies knowing things about me so they can show me information I’m interested in.

But this spyware stuff goes a little too far, in my opinion.

First, I hate, hate, hate popup windows. Gator, creates popup windows based on what you are searching for in Google. That annoys me as well because they are ultimately trying to steal ad money away from Google. Oveture uses Gator as one of their partners. It’s just sneaky and rude.

Second, these programs function behind the scenes and try to hide themselves as much as possible. They make a point of not being overly conspicuous. That goes against today’s opt-in belief system.

I consider myself a pretty savvy computer user. But I ran a program to detect spyware files and registry entries. I was pretty shocked when it turned up 121 entries.
The program I used was “Spybot Search and Destroy”. It was very intuitive. I didn’t need to read any directions to figure out how to use it. And it took care of all the files I wanted to be removed from my computer. Pretty impressive! Oh… it’s free too. I found a link to it on PCWorld. But you can do a search for it and find it many other places, if you would like. Here’s the link I used:
PCWorld.com - Spybot Search and Destroy v1.2

Overture sees Web search prices up, more deals
The average click charge at Overture is now $0.40. And it just keeps going up.

MSNBC taps start-up for ad technology | CNET News.com: “The Redmond, Wash.-based company said Tuesday that it is joining forces with WebRelevance, an 11-month-old company from Seattle, on ads for the news site. The start-up has developed technology that analyzes the content of a Web page, down to a handful of terms, in order to deliver an ad related to those keywords. ”
- See kids… anything is possible if you put your mind to it.

We’ve just put up an initial web marketing glossary. We felt that it might be helpful to have a list of terms available concerning the web marketing world. Here can find it here:
Web Marketing Glossary
Also, if there is a term that isn’t listed and you would like a definition, feel free to email me and we’ll get it up for you.

Overture encroaches on Google’s turf | CNET News.com:”In a win over rival Google, Overture Services said Monday that Net publisher Knight Ridder Digital will use its search services for one year. “

Promotion Tip: Send Your Catalog To Google: “Get publicity for your business and sell products to Web shoppers. Appear in one of the largest, most popular search engines on the Web. It’s free and it happens even before you post your Web site.

If you keep up on the trends of search engine optimization this collection of tidbits is for you:
PromotionData.com - Insider tips for your Google ranking: “During the last few weeks, GoogleGuy revealed some previously unknown tips and information that may help you to improve the ranking of your web site on Google (and possibly other search engines as well).”

Google Adwords: What’s New?: “Based on direct feedback from our advertisers, we?ve improved the Google AdWords account interface. We took your suggestions to heart and devised a number of ways to enhance your user experience. So while a few areas on your screen may look a little different, you?ll find that managing your account is easier and more efficient than ever.”

Top 100 New Zealand Company Web Sites are Invisible to Search Engines - search engine news blog: “Report finds Top 100 NZ company websites are a waste of money”
This isn’t just a New Zealand problem…