The retail holiday season is already in full swing. For many retailers the true indicator of how the season will go starts on Thanksgiving, and Black Friday results come in. The retail research firm ShopperTrak estimated that shoppers spent $11.2 billion at physical stores on Black Friday this year, which represented a 1.8% decline from Black Friday 2011. Still, 90%+ of our clients exceeded their projections for those critical days, which signals that the 2012 holiday season should be a strong one for many retailers. As I was reflecting on how we were able to influence results it really came down to 3 things; Preparation, Agility, and People; The PAP Strategy. These 3 key elements drove the success of the season, and I’m confident that no matter what the external factors are that these 3 factors drive the success or failure of any brand, or agencies during the season.
Tagged 'paid search' 
Google Caffeine: Does it Give You the Jitters?
Do you have that nervous feeling in your stomach? Sweaty palms? Is your heart racing? If you're an SEO agency, these symptoms may be a result of Google's looming Caffeine update. No, not the kind in your coffee; in this case, Caffeine refers to the latest Google algorithm update.
Although Google announced the update in August 2009, the updated version is currently only running on one data center, half of the time. The lag between the announcement of the release and the full implementation has lulled many SEO specialists into a sense of complacency, and indeed the buzz surrounding Caffeine has all but faded away. With Google withholding on a timeline for complete implementation, predicting the effects and implications of Caffeine is bit like fortune telling. However, by using the information Google has released about Caffeine in conjunction with their current focus, a few forecasts can be made.
Caffeine is primarily an infrastructure update. Expanded indexing, increased relevance, and increased speed are all the main effects of the revamped algorithm. These are the changes that won't be visible to the average user but will make Google faster and more relevant. From the SEO perspective, the question... Read more
