Patricio Robles

Kiss your duplicate content worries away

Duplicate content is one of those SEO issues that can be a real pain to deal with. While Google says it doesn't 'penalize' duplicate content unless the duplicate content is clearly the result of malicious behavior, that doesn't stop webmasters and SEOs from worrying about it.

While such worries may be overblown, there are legitimate reasons why duplicate content can become problematic.

by Patricio Robles 13 February 2009 09:25am 2 comments

The bloodbath begins in the startup world

Everybody knew that the economic crisis would have a profound impact on VC-backed technology startups. Many that had been able to raise lots of funding when times were good focused on growth instead of revenue, grew headcount rapidly and planned for M&A levels and IPOs that were a part of an economy that is now a fading memory.

With many VCs unwilling or unable to continue supporting portfolio companies that haven't found a way to support themselves, it was only a time before waves of startups started closing their doors and selling themselves at firesale prices as they ran out of cash.

by Patricio Robles 13 February 2009 09:01am 0 comments

MPs call for Google to reinstate ban on gambling ads

In June 2007, Google implemented a global ban on gambling ads. But by October of last year it had decided to reverse that ban, allowing licensed gambling operators in the UK and the European Economic Area to purchase ads in the UK market.

At the time, Google claimed that the reversal of the ban was part of a plan to make local search results more relevant.

by Patricio Robles 12 February 2009 16:26pm 1 comment

Yahoo makes developers the BOSS

Yahoo's Build Your Own Search Service, or BOSS, is one of the most visible components of Yahoo's Open Strategy.

With BOSS, developers are given the ability to build their own search engines that query Yahoo using an API and can then take the results that Yahoo returns and do with them what they please.

by Patricio Robles 12 February 2009 10:29am 1 comment

CyberSource: online fraud burdening UK merchants

According to CyberSource Ltd., the UK subsidiary of electronic payment provider CyberSource Corporation, online fraud is a growing challenge for online businesses in the UK.

Although the total rate of fraud increased by 'only' 2.6%, one in 8 online merchants in the UK are now losing 5% or more of their online revenue to fraud and 37% lose at least 1%. All told, more than 40% of the merchants surveyed as part of CyberSource's 5th Annual Fraud Report saw fraud levels increase online last year.

by Patricio Robles 12 February 2009 08:39am 0 comments

Advertising with Google AdWords is not protection money for organic SERPs

When you're a digital marketer or deal with issues like SEO on a day-to-day basis, it's easy to forget that there are lots of people running businesses that leverage the internet in some way who are trying their best to learn and stay on top of trends without all the resources of the 'pros'.

I was recently speaking to an acquaintance who runs several small mom-and-pop ecommerce websites and as we discussed his use of AdWords, he told me something quite interesting: despite the fact that his campaigns weren't performing, he felt the need to continue spending a little money with AdWords because he thought it would help with his organic ranking.

by Patricio Robles 11 February 2009 17:09pm 8 comments

Loud mouth lawyers: Facebook paid $65m to settle lawsuit

Just how much was Facebook willing to pay to settle the lawsuit alleging that founder Mark Zuckerberg had stolen the concept and some code from fellow Harvard classmates Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss and Divya Narendra?

That was the $64m question that appeared would never be answered given the secrecy around the settlement.

by Patricio Robles 11 February 2009 09:26am 0 comments

John Dvorak doesn't get SEO, but knows how to linkbait

For most of us, SEO is not some pie-in-the-sky theory that may or not be real. We use it. And we know it works because we see and measure the results.

While SEO isn't the be-all and end-all of online marketing, helping search engines find your content and better understand what it's about can be a crucial part of making sure that internet users find your content. At the end of the day, that's really what SEO is about.

Try telling that to John Dvorak, aka Mr Anti-SEO.

by Patricio Robles 10 February 2009 17:00pm 20 comments

Is Twitter going paid for commercial accounts?

We've been talking a lot about Twitter lately. Everybody has. The popular microblogging service continues to grow rapidly in popularity and seems to be making the transition from a first-adopter favorite to a bona fide mainstream property.

But as it does so, the one topic that can't be avoided: Twitter's lack of a business model. Despite the fact that it has raised a lot of money from venture capitalists, at some point the legions of loyal Twitter users will want to see their favorite service fly under its own power. That means that a scalable and sustainable business model must be developed.

by Patricio Robles 10 February 2009 16:46pm 6 comments

UK social gaming startup Pikum folds

As social media grows more and more prominent and social media services like Twitter attract more and more mainstream attention, it's worth keeping a hefty dose of perspective and reminding ourselves that throwing 'social' in front of a business doesn't guarantee success.