by Bill Cullifer on August 20, 2010
According to a recent report from NPR. the 50 most popular websites installed a total of 3,180 tracking files on a test computer used by The Wall Street Journal to measure the industry’s reach.
The 50 most popular websites installed a total of 3,180 tracking files on a test computer used by The Wall Street Journal to measure the industry’s reach.
One of the fastest-growing online businesses is the business of spying on Internet users by using sophisticated software to track movements through the Web, so that the information can be sold to advertisers.
Julia Angwin recently led a team of reporters from The Wall Street Journal in analyzing the tracking software. They discovered that nearly all of the most commonly visited websites gather information in real time about the behavior of online users. The Journal series identified more than 100 tracking companies, data brokers and advertising networks collecting data — which are then sold on a stock market-like exchange to online advertisers.
In a recent conversation with Fresh Air contributor Dave Davies, Angwin explains how consumer surveillance works, how users can disable the tracking software — and how advertisers are continually evolving to keep up with the data they receive. She notes that many Internet users are unaware that their information is being tracked and then traded.
“Most people that we have heard from since writing these stories did not know what was going on,” Angwin explains. “So when you go to a website, you’re not thinking about the fact that they might have relationships with all different types of monitoring firms, and those firms are installing things that are invisible to you on your computer.”
For the full story check the website or listen to the podcast:
by Bill Cullifer on January 27, 2010
Link Building Trends for 2010:
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Interactive Marketing and Link Building Trends Podcast
Today’s podcast is about interactive marketing and linking building trends for 2010. Debra Mastaler, President of Alliance-Link, an interactive marketing company focused on providing custom link building campaigns and link training provides her thoughts and insights on the topic.
Check out the three minute Web professional minute podcast on the WOW website.
1. Traffic is the new PageRank, so the goal is to get as much from varied sources as you can. Capture email addresses and use them in your sales and link building efforts. Balance new content, new links and inbound traffic when implementing a link campaign. Split your campaigns into link popularity building and traffic generation links—this will give you a diverse and natural looking back link profile.
2. While Twitter is my new General Hospital, it’s also my new favorite search vehicle. Use Twitter to research for link leads as you would any search engine. Use Twitter as a point of commonality when contacting people for links; “I follow you on Twitter” is a wonderful icebreaker.
3. Be wary of fad link tactics, and keep in mind the key components of link popularity and what makes a link valuable. Cookie cutter links on similar sites won’t pass the type of link popularity you need to help your pages rank for the long-term.
4. Content development will continue to be crucial but where you place content will be key. Article directories are still OK to use but drive little in the way of link popularity or syndication. Developing relationships with key bloggers, journalists and ezines will become crucial. Look also to topical online communities and the answer sites to find authorities to host your content.
5. Becoming the “authority” in your niche (especially for competitive brands) will become paramount as the search noise on the web/net escalates. One way to do this is to incorporate on and offline advertising efforts. The more people see your brand online and offline, the more they’ll trust and link to it when asked.
