Earlier today I came across Brett’s post about the new Yahoo! Basic Site Submit program that was released to users.

It got me thinking… Is there a growing demand for paid submissions again in the industry?  My immediate answer is — YES!

I know that there have been paid submission programs available to webmasters and marketers for a while, but they’ve all failed to match the once great Inktomi programs from Position Technologies.  In short, I’ve always found paid submission programs to be very successful and rewarding.  If nothing else, they teach you to become proactive in making organic optimization changes and to track results and referrals on a regular basis.

The trouble is, the reach itself has always been lacking.  The Inktomi program, while good — simply didn’t portray itself as a valuable traffic source.  That may have been the markets I was working in at the time — but even some of my old SEO clients found the same to be true.

Now, I’m obviously stating that there is a growing need for paid submission programs… So I’m a fan of Yahoo!’s new offer.  The reason is simple — they have the branding, reach and affordability that make the program attractive to users of all levels.

If you haven’t had a chance to do so yet, be sure to check the new program out.  If you’re in need of larger services and tools — check out Yahoo’s  Search Submit Pro program.

I’ll be dumping some money into the program in the not so distant future to give it all a try again.  Hopefully the optimization and analytical tools that they offer a bit more up to date than the older tools that PositionTech offered on the Inktomi program.

My professional New Year’s Resolution, if there ever were one, was to begin to understand and use PPC more on a regular basis.  To date, I’ve strictly been an organic SEO guy.  While I have an AdWords account, it took my downloading the new editor to really begin to find the PPC game “fun” again.

In short, the new editor offers minor improvements over the previous version.  As the AdWords Blog summarizes, the new features include:

• Add or edit site-targeted campaigns
• Add or edit negative sites for keyword- and site-targeted campaigns
• Edit another account while posting or checking your changes
• Pause or resume individual ads, keywords, and sites
• See the number of rows you’ve selected in the data view

Again, I’m new to the PPC game in that I’ve managed other people’s efforts from an overview perspective at best.  I’ve never been knee deep in it all.  If you’ve got experience with the previous editor though, I’d love to hear more about what you think of the new editor — so comment below!

I’m getting settled into my new position as a search analyst, and in the process of doing so I’ve been given the opportunity to work with a market leading web analytics tool.

Coming from a grassroots and startup environment, most of my experience in parsing logs and analyzing data has come from simple applications that never cost more than fifty dollars. While I had experience in working with massive suites like Webtrends before, I’ve never been tasked with using these suites as the sole source of analytics.

With the help of my colleagues, today was my first full on day of using and training on a massive, market leading application that uses web beacon technology. Overall, I’m very impressed and frankly surprised at the flexibility and customizations available.

One of the issues that I’ve come across though is the ability to review search engine behaviors. There’s a distinct give and take relationship here, and I’m currently sitting on the fence hoping to come across some level of a happy medium.

With web beacon apps you get a web based interface that gives you the ability to customize, program and review data. Some data. See, these applications do an excellent job in providing information on site users, but not all site visitors.

Understanding user behaviors and characteristics is a gold mine, especially if you’re role is one where you must increase conversions or sales and improve the processes involved. With that in mind, these applications serve a wonderful purpose and make the lives of marketing managers more enjoyable.

In a world though where search engine marketing is more closely monitored, how does an SEO get by on these reports? So far, my immediate answer is that they can not.

Again, I’m new in the process and still have a lot to learn. In the back of my mind though I cannot help but see a glaring issue in reviewing search engine behavior and the behaviors of other automated (yet surprisingly important) browsers and agents.

In the end though, direct access to log files will undoubtedly provide the information I’m after. There still seems to be a growing issue and requirement for developers to answer though, that there is a distinct need for an effective web analytics suite that serves massive networks, employs web beacon deployment, is managed with a web based interface — yet still provides the gritty access that dedicated SEO’s need to feel comfortable with.

It’s been a long, long time since I’ve been able to post anything here on the blog… So an explanation is in order.

First, my wife and I welcomed our first child, Camden William on February 7th.  Now, the fascinating (and sleepless) journey into parenthood is upon us, and there’s seemingly less and less time to make things happen.

Second, I’ve accepted a full time position as an SE Analyst at a Fortune 500 company — and I’ll be starting at that position on Monday the 19th.  With just a couple of days home before I start working at an office again, I find myself frantically rushing around the house making sure that my wife and son are well equipped to handle the week without me being around to lend a hand.

All in all it is an exciting and eventful time in our lives, and I appreciate all the support from friends and family recently.  Hopefully when I get into the swing of things at my new position, I’ll have an easier time getting quality blog posts published for you all to enjoy.