This article by Howie Jacobson was originally posted on Search Engine Watch. When using AdWords or any advertising medium, you always create ads with the prospect in mind. But unlike most other media that will run your ad as long as your checks clear and you don’t violate editorial policy, Google cares...Read More
PPC
This article by Howie Jacobson was originally posted on Fast Company. A bed of carrots can teach you a lot about standing out from your competitors. As winter trudges along and the days begin to lengthen, my mind turns to the summer garden. Out come the seed catalogs and seedling trays, and I get...Read More
This article by Howie Jacobson was originally posted on Search Engine Watch. When you think about it, search is really one of the most fundamental human activities. Pretty much everything we do, say, and think about is a form of search: an attempt to scan our environment to get what we need from it....Read More
This article by Howie Jacobson was originally posted on Search Engine Watch. When I planted beets this summer, I followed the instructions on the seed packet and spaced them 6 inches apart, with 15 inches between rows. In a three-foot wide bed, that meant I had room for only two rows, or a total of about...Read More
This article by Howie Jacobson was originally posted on Search Engine Watch. A mother gives her son two ties for his birthday. He goes upstairs, puts on one of the ties, and comes back down to show his mother. She looks him up and down, then says, “What’s the matter, you didn’t like the other tie?” This...Read More
This article by Howie Jacobson was originally posted on Search Engine Watch. Desperately seeking inspiration or to obliterate writer’s block and create relevant and engaging PPC ads? Creative breakthroughs generally come from two places: empathy and context. So let’s talk about empathy and how to...Read More
This article by Howie Jacobson was originally posted on Search Engine Watch. Recent discussion among search marketers over whether lowering a keyword bid can lower quality score reminded me of a totally different topic: the way pharmaceutical companies sell us unnecessary and harmful drugs that keep...Read More
This article by Howie Jacobson was originally posted on Search Engine Watch. In “Stumbling on Happiness”, Daniel Gilbert talks a lot about the concept of “nexting.” By this, he means our subconscious habit of predicting what is just about to happen. Without this habit, he points out, we could...Read More
This article by Howie Jacobson was originally posted on Search Engine Watch. During the energy crisis of the 1970s, governments scrambled desperately to promote conservation as a method of combating rising demand and uncertain supplies. In Holland, one suburb’s consumption patterns utterly baffled...Read More
This article by Howie Jacobson was originally posted on Search Engine Watch. Last week we put a bunch of fruit trees and bushes in our back yard, including blueberry, cherry, pear, elderberry, peach, and pomegranate. The total cost of the plants was under $400, but the total invoice was close to $2,000. The...Read More
This article by Howie Jacobson was originally posted on Search Engine Watch. Think you’re stuck with a not-so-great market or competitive environment? In search marketing, you often have a lot more control over those factors than you might think. Aren’t You Glad You Aren’t a Plant? Imagine...Read More
This article by Howie Jacobson was originally posted on Search Engine Watch. Ash Maurya’s book “Running Lean” provides an excellent roadmap for anyone starting a new business or introducing a new product line, especially if that person doesn’t want to spend huge amounts of time, money...Read More