Online PR Trends Shaping 2003
Google News gaining real traction, RSS syndication spreading beyond blogs and search-driven discovery displacing mass release blasts: what moved PR in 2003.
The Archive
2003
A Practical Guide to Search Engine Marketing
Search engine marketing captures people the moment they want to buy, blending paid search and SEO. Here's how the two differ and reinforce each other.
Why Tracking Affiliate EPC Matters for Your Bottom Line
By late 2003, affiliate networks had matured enough that the real question was how to use earnings-per-click data to find your best partners.
Why Contextual Advertising Matters for Your Bottom Line
Contextual advertising, matching ads to content instead of a purchased placement, gave small advertisers a low-cost alternative to 2003's biggest ad networks.
Common RSS Feeds Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)
The technical and editorial mistakes that broke RSS feeds for publishers in 2003, from malformed XML to feeds nobody could find.
The Rise of CAN-SPAM Compliance
How a patchwork of state anti-spam laws that began in 1998 built the pressure behind the federal CAN-SPAM Act now nearing a Senate vote.
How Email Marketing Changed Digital Marketing in 2003
Why 2003 was the year email marketing stopped being self-regulated, from California's tough new opt-in law to Congress closing in on a federal standard.
Pay-Per-Click Advertising Trends Shaping 2003
The Yahoo-Overture deal, Google's auction refinements and the shift of small business budgets away from banner ads: what moved pay-per-click ads in 2003.
SEO Mistakes Exposed by Google's Florida Update
The exact-match keyword and manipulative-link habits that Google's November update just made a lot more costly for sites that leaned on them.
A Practical Guide to Business Blogging
How business blogging works: permalinks, topic clusters and internal links, why frequency stopped mattering as much as depth and how posts convert.
Case Study: Winning With Google AdSense
An illustrative look at how a small content publisher turned Google AdSense, launched in June 2003, into its first real revenue stream without a sales team.
Online Communities Trends Shaping 2003
Friendster's launch, the rise of forum software, blogging going mainstream and Wikipedia's early growth: four shifts that redefined online communities in 2003.
A Practical Guide to E-Commerce Marketing
A step-by-step guide to launching an online store in 2003, from choosing a platform and building buyer trust to getting found in search and keeping customers.
A Practical Guide to Web Content Strategy
A step-by-step approach to planning, writing and maintaining web content in 2003, built around the lessons of Google's Florida update.
Mastering Online PR: A Marketer's Playbook
A 2003 operating playbook for online PR: writing releases search engines could find, choosing a wire service and treating blogs as a real press channel.
SEM Mistakes in the Wake of the Yahoo-Overture Deal
How Yahoo's acquisition of Overture and Google's growing content network changed the paid search mistakes advertisers were making in 2003.
Affiliate Marketing in 2003: Networks vs In-House
A decision framework for 2003: whether to join an affiliate network or build your own program, and how to structure commissions so the right partners sign up.
Contextual Advertising: What Every Business Needs to Know
A decision framework for evaluating contextual ad networks in 2003, from Google AdSense to smaller challengers like Kanoodle and where each fits your goals.
Case Study: Winning With RSS Feeds
A look at how one online retailer used a full-content RSS feed to stay in touch with customers the year RSS 2.0 was finalized and email hit spam filters.
Building a CAN-SPAM Compliance Strategy From Scratch
How to build email compliance practices in early 2003, ahead of the federal anti-spam law moving through Congress and a growing patchwork of state rules.
The Rise of Email Marketing Under the New CAN-SPAM Act
How email marketing grew from a scrappy, unregulated tactic into a serious business channel by 2003, and what the newly signed CAN-SPAM Act meant for it.
Pay-Per-Click Playbook 2003: AdWords vs Overture
An operational playbook for running Google AdWords and Overture campaigns in 2003, from account structure through bid management and landing page matching.
Case Study: Winning With Search Engine Optimization
An illustrative look at how a small mail-order retailer rebuilt its site structure and earned real backlinks instead of chasing exact-match tricks.
How Business Blogging Changed Digital Marketing in 2003
The year Google bought Blogger, WordPress launched and a presidential campaign proved a blog could out-organize a traditional media budget.
Google AdSense Trends Shaping 2003
A snapshot of how Google AdSense reshaped publisher revenue and contextual advertising in the second half of 2003, from launch through its fastest growth.