Since Matt Cutts announced the Penguin update some weeks ago (aka, the over-optimization penalty), the SEO industry has been trying to figure out exactly what it means. Penguin officially rolled out late last month, and there have been a whole passel of accounts of sites getting hit pretty hard. In the official post on the …Read full entry

DAC Group held an American Marketing Association (AMA) lunch series session titled “Digital Lead Generation Minus the Guesswork” yesterday at the Doubletree Hotel in Cleveland. DAC’s Vice-President of Client Strategy Nasser Sahlool led the afternoon seminar. Topics discussed included: digital trends, SoLoMo – Social, Local and Mobile channels, methodologies to succeed in a dynamic digital …Read full entry

There seem to be two types of companies: Those who get mobile, and those who don’t. It’s often a function of cost; they’re investing in search, SEO, local listings, landing pages… Mobile is simply one more line item. If a visitor can already access a site on her mobile device, no matter how poorly, a …Read full entry

The announcement by Big 3 automaker General Motors that they will no longer be advertising on Facebook is probably leading a few companies to question their media strategy. Should they be questioning their media strategy? Absolutely, every day. There’s no such thing as rinse and repeat in digital media; placing the same ads as last …Read full entry

When talking about Print Yellow Pages (PYP) usage, many are quick to quote the decreasing trend in overall PYP references. However, looking at an overall figure is not the end of the story. Print directories are extremely effective in many categories, and when looking at the 2011 DAC Group/Kantar data, we can see that various headings …Read full entry

Even in these recessionary times, advertisers who maintained their directory ad programs experienced an increase in calls, profit and return on investment. A recent Patek analytics study looked at directory ads published between 2008-2011, comprised of 1572 ad programs, spanning 86 headings. This study provides more evidence that directory ads continue to provide outstanding value …Read full entry

I am going to start by assuming that social media is already a key part of your marketing strategy (if it’s not, please watch the video below, and take a giant leap into the present). Now, for those of you who are active in social media, I’m sure many of you will attest, implementing social media …Read full entry

Let’s wax poetic on the value of a phone call for a moment.  I often speak with advertisers on what a call is worth to them.  Is a six second call valid?  Some may say ‘yes’, some would argue ‘no’. Is it really in the eye of the beholder? Let’s take a glimpse into my life …Read full entry

I’m a self-admitted testing geek. What should you test? In a  straight A/B test, you pick one variable to test, and keep everything else the same. Lots of people make two very common mistakes with this: Either they try to test two variations that are so different that it’s impossible to know what caused the …Read full entry

This is part two of a two part series on SMX (Search Marketing Expo) 2012 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. If the first day of SMX Toronto was all about finding the courage to embark on a journey into the great unknown, the second day was about outfitting attendees with the right maps, gear …Read full entry