SEO Dario | The Endless Pursuit of Organic Search, Search Marketing and SEO

File-sharing defendant Jammie Thomas-Rasset has filed new legal papers asking the court to slash the $1.92 million verdict against her.

Thomas-Rasset argues that a seven-figure damage award is disproportionate to any harm she caused the record industry. “The plaintiffs were not able to offer testimony about any actual damage done to them by Mrs. Thomas’s conduct beyond perhaps $1.29 per song or $15 per album in lost sales,” she argues.

In June, a jury found that Thomas-Rasset had infringed on copyright by sharing 24 tracks on Kazaa and assessed damages of $80,000 per track. The statute provides for damages of up to $150,000 per instance of infringement.

The verdict marked the second time that a jury ruled against Thomas-Rasset. An earlier trial in 2007 resulted in a jury verdict of $220,000, or $9,000 per track. But U.S. District Court Judge Michael Davis in Minnesota set that verdict aside and ordered a new trial because of a mistaken jury instruction.

At the time, Davis expressed concern over the size of the award. “While the court does not discount plaintiffs’ claim that, cumulatively, illegal downloading has far-reaching effects on their businesses, the damages awarded in this case are wholly disproportionate to the damages suffered by plaintiffs,” he wrote.

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Popularity: 34% [?]

If you’ve spent some time on Google trying to figure out why ‘white people stole my car‘ is one of the fastest-rising search terms on Google Trends today, you’ve probably come away mystified. You’ve also probably downloaded about sixteen computer viruses, as the malware spammers that leech off Google Trends have jumped on the term in a big way.

Luckily, I spent time to figure it all out for you, so you don’t have to. Don’t thank me, this is why I went to college.

Spoiler Alert: it’s because Internet users are kind of racist! You see, there’s a popular email being passed around with a picture showing a Google search for “white people stole my car.” Underneath, it shows “Did you mean: “black people stole my car.”

The joke, you see, is that Google would replace the term “black” for “white.” We do not approve, and for what it’s worth, that no longer happens if you type the term into Google. In fact, it may have never happened at all.

Internet, sometimes you just really need to take a time out and think about what you’ve done. (What you’ve done is be terrible.)  My girlfriend’s grandmother already thinks that the internet is the devil and I think Google has just confirmed that for her ….

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Behavioral targeting may no longer mean that the advertiser buys media armed with a browser-based cookie and a pixel tag. It appears that public Wi-Fi access hotspots can tell more about a person than some initially thought.

A study released by JiWire on Monday analyzes Wi-Fi access trends between January and June 2009. The report, which highlights market trends for advertisers, provides a snapshot of trends and the type of people who access data over public Wi-Fi.

Knowing the specific longitude and latitude of a person builds the foundation to serve up an ad as the person sits at Starbucks on Market Street in San Francisco, but integrating demographic data, data collected from local surveys, and prism clusters based on “ZIP-code-plus-six data” from Nielsen Claritas provides specifics.

Targeting consumers over public Wi-Fi access points has become more appealing for several reasons. For starters, past research shows that people spend on average of five hours daily outside the home or office, although many stay connected to the Internet through Wi-Fi, according to David Staas, senior vice president of marketing at JiWire.

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We all know that blogs, when used properly, can be excellent tools for promoting your organization and expanding your client base while providing insight into the interworking of your company. They are also an effective way to generate organic search engine exposure, and, with the right content, quality inbound links for your website.

However, blogging is not something to be taken lightly, isn’t right for every organization, and if done incorrectly can actually harm your company’s online reputation and branding. Below are the 7 deadly sins of company blogging and what you can do to exorcise those demonic blog traits and convert to an angelic blogosphere existence.

Lust – It is a craving, an overwhelming longing that often leads to self indulgent behavior. Your company’s blog is not the place for self indulgence; it is not the forum for promoting your personal desires. Your content needs to

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I feel compelled to write this post about “Educating Your Client” as this seems to be a huge issue in the SEO world. Seems that clients view SEO as a “behind the curtain” type profession; that’s what my last director, Miss Scruggs, told me. Many Clients really don’t understand how SEO works. They assume “I have the money and I should rank for that term”, but, the reality is, you can’t buy rankings.

Rankings are acheved by what I like to call “Doing The Right Thing”. Google’s goal is to provide it’s users with the most relevant results for the keyword term they entered. If your site is well designed, provides users with useful information and is on topic, that’s half the battle A.K.A. SEO 101.

When you sign on a new client it is always good to set the expectation from day one of the relationship. The client needs to know and understand that things don’t change over night and that rankings are not the all mighty measurement. Some clients will be focused on rankings and will call you 5 times a day, which is how many times their rankings fluctuated that day. In SEO we call this the ranking roller coaster. It is up to the SEO specialist or account manager to wheel them in and tactfully show them other measurements that benefit their business better, such as:

• Organic Revenue Per Keyword
• Site Traffic Data
• Site Revenue Data
• Search Volume Trends Per Keywords

In my opinion showing the client the revenue stream is more fruitful than showing them they rank #1 in Google.

Popularity: 37% [?]

We’ve certainly seen some fairly interesting dedicated handset buttons before, but it’s hard to argue with the functionality of a standalone GOOG-411 key. Apparently, Thomson has teamed up with Google to integrate the “first ever one-touch, auto-dial GOOG-411 button” into over a dozen of its GE-branded DECT 6.0 phones. In case you’ve been chilling under a stone of late, GOOG-411 is the search giant’s “free, voice-activated, business directory assistance service,” and it will be within reach on a slew of April-bound home phones. Each phone can use one of 20 ringtones, plus a special VIP Melody — a separate ringtone to use when that special someone calls (note: requires Caller ID). The handsets each have a dedicated headset jack, so you can plug in a headset for those long calls, and still enjoy the mobility of a cordless phone. The handsets are extremely light, and very comfortable to hold. The DECT 6.0 technology makes the wireless transmission virtually static free, and provides a very long range.

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I was trolling the web today and came across GOOG411 on Twitter. With the inventions of services like GOOG411, Skype, Vonage and MetroPCS I think cell carries are losing the battle to continue to charge consumers by the minute for air time, hefty cancellation penalties and the age old “free nights and weekends” plans.

About GOOG-411
Google’s new 411 service is free, fast and easy to use. Give it a try now and see how simple it is to find and connect with local businesses for free. (*)

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So, today Yahoo! has announced a change in their terms of service agreement with it’s advertisers. The changes have had mixed reviews with-in the interactive community.

“OPTIMIZATION. In the U.S. only, for those advertisers not bound by an Insertion Order, we may help you optimize your account(s). Accordingly, you expressly agree that we may also: (i) create ads, (ii) add and/or remove keywords, and/or (iii) optimize your account(s). We will notify you via email of such changes made to your account(s), and can also include a spreadsheet of such changes upon your written request. If you would like any of such changes reversed, please reply to such email within 14 days of the change(s), and we will make commercially reasonable efforts to reverse the change(s) you specifically identify. Notwithstanding the foregoing, you remain responsible for all changes made to your account(s), including all click charges incurred prior to any reversions being made. It is your responsibility to monitor your account(s) and to ensure that your account settings are consistent with your business objectives.”
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So here we go again. You know you have arrived when your site is being attacked by hackers. The part I don’t understand is how people continue to give out personal information online. I take that back, I do understand how this stuff happens.

I look at my mom, and then I say some people just are not use to the World Wide Web. it is almost,if not exactly, the same as visiting a city you have never been to before, and asking for directions in a shady part of town. Of course the guy with the gold teeth and braids in his head; that gave you the directions that you thought were “not so” correct, but you listened because “he’s from here”, is the same guy that is yelling “give me all your shit” through your car window in the alley he sent you down.
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