Guest Post by: James Katz

In my last blog post, I focused on legal issues that can arise by the unethical use of Google Places listings, such as the use of a third party’s trade-mark in order to draw attention to what is in fact, a competitor’s website. As I indicated back then, there is no Canadian case law that deals directly with this ever more common scenario. As a result, I was forced to go to recent case law from the Courts of Australia for guidance, which can provide us Canadians with some indication as to what a Canadian Court would decide if faced with such a scenario. Well, it’s time for us to go Down Under again in order to shed legal light on how a Canadian Court might deal with a dispute concerning Google AdWords.

Many of the legal issues surrounding the misuse of AdWords overlap with those that can arise with Google Places. These disputes generally involve allegations that an advertiser has misled the buying public by the use of AdWords that are comprised of the names or trade-marks of competitors. It had already been decided in Australia and other jurisdictions that in such cases, there was no doubt that the advertiser (the person selling their products or services online) can be held liable in such cases for breaches of various unfair competition laws. But, thanks to an interesting April 3^rd Court decision, again from Australia, it now turns out that someone else could also be liable for such illegal Internet content: Google.

In a unanimous decision from a panel of three judges, the Australian Federal Court ruled that Google had engaged in misleading advertising, contrary to Australia’s Trade Practices Act, when it allowed advertisers to use competitors’ trade-names as AdWords keywords which then triggered their own advertisements. The complete decision can be found here. The provisions of that law at issue (which has since been repealed and replaced with new legislation) basically stated that it was unlawful for a business to engage in conduct that is either misleading or deceptive or likely to mislead or deceive. Google’s main defence to this charge was that it was only a passive (and therefore innocent) conduit for the activities of the advertisers in questions (who had all been found liable in earlier proceedings). It was therefore Google’s position that, as an ad hosting platform, only the advertisers that misuse the AdWords system should be held to account. After all, Google argued, it was the advertisers that put in place the AdWords which turned out to be deceptive, not Google.

The Court, however, rebuffed Google’s arguments in their entirety, and found that Google was no mere passive conduit for the advertisers’ activities. This finding, which was key to the whole case against Google, was in turn based on several findings of fact made by the judges, which included: 1) The contents that appear on a Google web page in response to a user’s query is Google generated content. More specifically, it is the program that Google employs that generates the search results page, pursuant to the AdWords facility that is made available to the advertisers by Google; 2) An ordinary and reasonable user of Google’s search engine would conclude that it was Google that displayed the advertisers’ sponsored links in response to the user’s search query. Critical to this finding was also the fact that what is in fact occurring when a user executes a Google search is that a) the user is asking a question of Google, and b) the search results (whether misleading or not) are Google’s response; and 3) the conduct in providing a URL in response to a search query (which in turn leads to the advertisers’ website) is Google’s. In all, the falsity of the conduct engaged in by Google is that, in response to a searched keyword phrase which identifies a competitor, it is Google that displays the misleading URL in its sponsored link search results. This is, the Court concluded, very unlike the typical case of a passive advertiser who simply disseminates words and images as an agent of its advertising client (which would generally not attract liability), simply because it is Google (more accurately its computer program) that created the message that it then represents.

It is assumed that, given the ramifications of this decision, Google will be appealing to Australia’s High Court, mainly because this decision could form the basis for other similar decisions in the Courts of the UK and Commonwealth.

Shifting back from Down Under to the Great White North, it is difficult to say whether or not Google could end up facing a similar decision in Canada. Although Canada’s Competition Act contains language that mirrors that of Australia’s trade law, it does differ in one material way: it requires showing that the person who makes the misleading or deceptive statement in its advertising did so either knowingly or recklessly. This requirement of subjective proof that Google was either aware of the misrepresentation being made by an advertiser or wilfully blind to that activity taking place would be a significant bar to someone trying to successfully sue Google for committing an unfair trade practice. Further, Google would likely argue that, under Canadian law, by requiring advertisers to agree to its terms and conditions of use which specifically prohibit forms of deceptive conduct, such as the misappropriation of a competitor’s trade-marks for an AdWords campaign, it would be entitled to rely fully on the available defence of due diligence.

So, we again see that, when it comes to the Internet, the legal landscape in Canada is murky at best. Although we draw on the legal experience from other countries to see how things will shape up here, until we get a decision from a Canadian Court, consumers and advertisers here will just have to continue using good (ethical) judgment and common sense in how they market their goods and services online.

Related Blog Posts:

Legal Issues with Google Places: From a Canadian Perspective
Domain Name Disputes: From a Canadian Perspective
Domain Name Dispute Resolution Set to Change for dot-Ca Domains

James Katz is Lawyer and Trade-mark Agent with the Ottawa law firm BrazeauSeller LLP. James’ practice focuses primarily on Internet related legal issues and litigation, including trade-mark and copyright infringement, defamation and online privacy issues.

Disclaimer: The contents of this Blog post, and associated opinions  are those of its Author, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of WebFuel, or its employees.

The Shifting Legal Landscape of Google AdWords: From a Canadian Perspective is a post from: SEO Ottawa | Search Engine Optimization and Internet Marketing Agency | WebFuel

How Have Search Engine Ranking Changed?
Like everything else related to Search, there have been many changes over time. In the early days (mid-1990’s), a SEO would ensure that the Search Engines could find your website. It was quite simple if you understood how the major engines worked and the fact that there was minimal keyword competition. In the formative years of Google, web searchers would actually take the time to visit the top three Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). Today they rarely go past the first search results page. Page one ranking became a must for many businesses – and the higher you ranked (top positions) the better. It was the way to get that online competitive edge.  SEOs, like myself, would focus on this goal, run off ranking reports, and were measured on this metric by our clients.

Then…. along came countless changes including Universal Search, Personalized Search, Local Search, Social Search, Mobile Search (just to name a few). Add to the mix, the addition of Paid Search Ads (i.e. Google AdWords), Google Suggest and all the many, many SERP display changes.

The Result?

“Google basketball... bounces UP and DOWN just like your search results.” Source: Search Engine Round Table

To sum it up…. Rankings do matter; but in a different way.  You must be visible in search results based on web searchers that need to find you, their keywords and where they are searching.  And… then you need to get the click – or who cares? (I’ll save that for another post).

Are you still measuring SEO success on just rankings?

Do Rankings Really Matter? is a post from: SEO Ottawa | Search Engine Optimization and Internet Marketing Agency | WebFuel

Sitelinks: What are they?
Sitelinks are the additional links that appear in Google below an organic listing or an AdWords ad.

Organic Sitelinks
In the early days, Google displayed a website listing that simply included a title, short description and the site address in the search results. Eventually sitelinks began to appear below the listing to specific pages within the website. These were based on brand name searches (and variations thereof). This process of generating these links was completely automated by the Search Engine. Sitelink selection and ranking can change from query to query, allowing for more of a variety of optimized results. Over time, Google Canada has increased the number of links displayed and expanded them (to include a short snippet) giving much more visibility for one’s website in the SERPs.

Paid Sitelinks
Unlike the organic sitelinks, these additional links are generated by AdWords. These extra landing page links allow for more text ad real estate (up to four links). They are generated by the advertiser – not by Google (however the search engine needs to approve them). And… they can be based on branded as well as non-branded keywords.

Here is an example of sitelinks based on a Google Search for “WebFuel Ottawa”.

You will note from the example above, the two different types of sitelinks.

In the Paid Search section (which appears first in the search results), the sitelinks are “SEO” and “PPC”, which are our core services. This will allow us to give more visibility to relevant key web pages related to the ad (and track the results).

In the Organic Search results, the set of links include “About WebFuel”, “SEO Site Audit”, “Google AdWords”, “Google Analytics”, “Blog” and our “Contact” page. These additional internal links will drive web traffic to specific web pages within our website.

So… what does this have to do with PPC and SEO?

In terms of PPC, Google AdWords management can include implementation and optimization of sitelinks via the ad extension feature. Using this strategy allows for quick visibility on a Google results page – and should improve the paid keyword traffic. Improving natural (unpaid) web traffic would involve SEO. Optimization of those sitelinks relates to organic algorithm factors (including site architecture), visible results takes longer and requires (in most cases) advanced SEO techniques.

Are you taking advantage of sitelinks?

SEO, PPC and Google Sitelinks is a post from: SEO Ottawa | Search Engine Optimization and Internet Marketing Agency | WebFuel

As the Search Strategist for WebFuel, I respond to the company’s SEO inquires and unfortunately hear many horror stories. As a result, I work more and more on resolving serious Search issues on behalf of newly acquired clients. Most of the time, what has been done from a SEO perspective (previous to hiring us) is a mystery. So…. like a Search Detective, I work to solve the case.

Here are the top most startling Search issues.

1. Not in the Google Index (at all)
   This sadly happens too often. We have had to resolve this type of Search issue more than any other – and it is serious. The most common reason is that the client did not have a Search Engine Friendly website built. In other words, the Search Engines cannot crawl their site. This means no indexation – and they will NOT show up in a Google SERP (Search Engine Results Page). You should hear the client’s blood curdling scream when this is brought to light.

2. Disappearing from Organic Search
   This is horrifying!!! One day key high-ranking web pages, or even worse, an entire website, no longer appears in Google SERPs. And… even more terrifying, this is often not noticed for quite a while as no one is even monitoring this.

3. Wrong Geographic Area (not your target location)
   Yikes!!! We see many variations of this frightening issue. Canadian businesses targeting the United States – Google.com but appearing in Google Canada (Google.ca). This requires lots of expertise to resolve (not simply hiring an American SEO Agency). Or… equally disastrous, Canadian companies whereby the target location is Canada – and Google displays their search results in the USA on Google.com. At the local level, Search Engine repositioning is required due to wrong city (i.e. Nepean Search rather than an Ottawa Search) or not entire geo-graphic region (i.e. province).

4. Stolen Web Traffic(that should belong to you)
   This issue is rarely known by the website owner (how chilling) – and only discovered when we audit the account. The most popular perpetrators are the client’s competitors (or the agency that was hired by the competitor), the business themselves (due to a poor online strategy) – and the worst violation, in my opinion, a third party supplier for the client. We have seen a huge increase in this type of scenario over the past year. The 3^rdparty vendor steals (and some are big well-known brands) your web traffic in order to improve their results on your behalf.

5. Bad SEO (Black Hat Techniques)
   Call it bad SEO practices or unethical standards it’s quickly becoming the norm (now that is scary). In our SEO Audits, we have discovered keyword stuffing, hidden text, duplicate content, cloaking, doorway pages, improper use of redirects and extremely questionable linking strategies – including invisible links on a page and inbound links from bad neighbourhoods (how creepy!!!).
   This is mostly due to the inexperience of the Search Engine Optimizer and simply not understanding the complexly of SEO.  But we also see many cases whereby the SEO strategy is based on intentionally “tricking” the Search Engines. This is known as “Black Hat” techniques. The real horrifying story here is businesses most don’t know that they have hired a Black Hat SEO Agency.

6. Keywords Scams, Myths & Issues
   This list is endless… SEOs selling organic keywords “you can buy these two”, rank for keywords that no one searches for, translating researched keywords from English into French (this doesn’t work) or hiring an agency that also works for your keyword competitors (no non-compete clause or they don’t honour it).

7. Google Ban (Organic & Paid)
   This is the worst horror story from our perspective. Not adhering to, or in compliance with AdWords policies resulting in a permanently suspended account. Yes – this means no Ads on Google. Or likely an even worse nightmare, violating Google Webmaster Guidelines – and getting banned from Organic Search. As a result, your website no longer appears for branded & non-branded keywords. You are now invisible in a Search!

Got your own SEO horror stories? Please share your chilling tales.

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SEO Horror Stories: From a Canadian Perspective is a post from: SEO Ottawa | Search Engine Optimization and Internet Marketing Agency | WebFuel

Guest Post by Kathryn Szymczyk

In a recent post, I blogged about Google’s new trade-mark policy in Canada with respect to Google AdWords advertising. In that blog post, I brought your attention to the fact that Google, in response to recent case law in Canada, amended its policy regarding the use of third party trade-marks in advertisements. The result was a less restrictive policy for Internet advertising through Google. Google’s AdWords trade-mark policy has not changed in 2011. However, a recent Court of Appeal decision has made Canadian law on the subject less clear.

One of the cases that appeared to lead Google to a less restrictive policy, was the 2010 decision of the British Columbia Supreme Court in Private Career Training Institutions Agency v. Vancouver Career College (Burnaby) Inc. (2010 BCSC 765, aff’d 2011 BCCA 69). In that case, the court sought to determine whether use by the Respondent of its competitor’s names as advertising keywords was “misleading advertising” under a governing bylaw. Not finding any previous jurisprudence on the subject in Canada, the judge equated “misleading” to “confusing” and resorted to an analysis based on trade-mark law. On that basis, the judge found that the Respondent’s use of its competitors names as advertising keywords, did not constitute false, deceptive or misleading advertising.

Many considered this decision to be judicial confirmation that use of a competitor’s trade-mark as an advertising keyword was not trade-mark infringement. Google’s policies appeared to be amended on this basis. However, as I noted at the end of my previous blog post, simply adhering to Google’s policies, which are based on its understanding of the law, would not be a defense to trade-mark infringement or passing off in the Canadian courts.

In 2011, Google’s policies remain the same. However, as a result of the decision on Appeal of the above noted case, Canadian law is not as clear. Although the British Columbia Court of Appeal came to the same basic conclusion as the Supreme Court of British Columbia, Chiasson J.A. notes at the end of his decision that the case was not a trade-mark dispute but rather a regulatory matter. The only issue that was determined in the case was whether or not the Respondent contravened the governing bylaw which prohibited false, deceptive or misleading advertising.

With this decision, it is again unclear whether use of a competitor’s trade-mark as an advertising keyword could ever be considered trade-mark infringement or passing off in Canada. As such, Internet advertisers would do well to be cautious. Care should be taken not to use the trade-marks of competitors in any way which could be construed as causing confusion amongst the average consumers as to the source of the associated goods and/or services.

Are you bidding on your competitor’s trade-mark as a keyword in Google?

Kathryn Szymczyk, Lawyer and Trade-mark Agent with the national law firm Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, has been practicing trade-mark law for the last 13 years both in Canada and Europe. She has a special interest in the effect that the Internet has had on the use and protection of trade-marks and copyrights.

Disclaimer: The contents of this Blog post, and associated opinions  are those of its Author, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of WebFuel, or its employees.

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Google AdWords and Trade-Mark Laws: From a Canadian Perspective is a post from: SEO Ottawa | Search Engine Optimization and Internet Marketing Agency | WebFuel

The new Google AdWords Certification program replaces the long-standing Google Advertising Professionals (GAP) program. It features a more rigorous examination process designed to provide more comprehensive and up-to-date strategy-focused training based on the latest tools and best practices for managing Google AdWords accounts.

“As a full service Search Engine Optimization agency, we pride ourselves in staying on top of search including paid search. Therefore, it was important for us to complete the new standards to achieve the new Google AdWords Certified Partner status” said Helen Faber, Owner of WebFuel Inc..

Google AdWords Certified Partners Status – What is it?
For those of you who aren’t sure what that means, Google Adwords Certification is a globally recognized certification program, operated by Google. Partner status is awarded to certified agency partners that provide digital advertising – and meet the eligibility criteria.

How can you verify Google Partner Status?

Click to verify

Google provides certified partners with a badge to publish on their website. This clickable AdWords badge links to a Google Certification Program profile page to show clients that the agency is an authentic Google Certified Partner. In addition, authentication can also be done via Google Partner Search page. Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO) also lists Google AdWords under the certifications section in each member’s profile. This is also done via a verification process.

WebFuel adds this certification to our rapidly growing list of accomplishments. Last month, we announced the AdWords certification of two employees with specializations in Display Advertising. In October, Helen Faber was appointed the Ontario Chair, SEMPO Canada.

About WebFuel Inc.:

WebFuel is an ethical Search Engine Optimization (SEO) agency specializing in Canadian Search.

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Google AdWords Certified Partners – WebFuel Ottawa’s First Official Certified Partner is a post from: SEO Ottawa | Search Engine Optimization and Internet Marketing Agency | WebFuel

Guest Post by Kathryn Szymczyk

Advertising on the Internet. What you should know about Google’s new Canadian AdWords policy.

As a result of litigation in Canada and throughout the rest of the world, Google has recently changed its AdWords policy in Canada to be less restrictive to advertisers. However, using the trademarks of third parties can still result in your advertisements being removed or, possibly, a trademark infringement action against you. As such it is important to be careful when using trademarks registered by third parties in any aspect of your online advertising. 

Google’s New AdWords Trademark Policy for Canada

As you may know, Google AdWords permits users to pay a fee for having their advertisement appear when a certain keyword is entered into Google. Often the keywords, or AdWords, sought by advertisers are the registered trademarks of third parties. Using registered trademarks as Adwords was always permitted.  However, in order to protect itself against claims by trademark holders, Google’s original policy was to remove any advertisements which used a registered trademark in the ad text, upon request by trademark owners. As of September 14, 2010, Google will no longer remove advertisements that use trademarks registered by third parties in the ad text, provided that the advertisers fall into one of three categories. The following are the permitted uses of trademarks in ad text, according to Google’s new policy (as stated in Google AdWords Help):

1. Ads which use the term in a descriptive or generic way, and not in reference to the trademark owner of the goods or services corresponding to the trademark term.
2. Ads which use the trademark in a nominative manner to refer to the trademark or its owner, specifically the following:

• Resale of the trademarked goods or services: The landing page of the ad must sell (or clearly facilitate the sale of) the goods or services corresponding to a trademark term. The landing page must also clearly demonstrate that a user is able to purchase the goods or services corresponding to a trademark.

OR

• Sale of components, replacement parts, or compatible products corresponding to a trademark: The landing page of the ad must sell (or clearly facilitate the sale of) the components, replacement parts, or compatible products relating to the goods or services of the trademark. The landing page must also clearly demonstrate that a user is able to purchase the components, parts or compatible products corresponding to the trademark term.

OR

• Information sites: The primary purpose of the landing page of the ad must be to provide informative details about the goods or services corresponding to the trademark term. Additionally, the landing page may not see or facilitate the sale of the goods or services of a competitor of the trademark owner.

This change in policy in Canada brings it into line with the policy in the U.S., Google’s least restrictive for advertisers. The changes will make it more difficult for trademark owners to have advertisements removed. They will not only be required to show that their trademark is being used in the text of an advertisement, but also that the use falls outside the permitted exceptions.

It is important to note, however, that Google’s policies cannot prevent trademark owners from suing Internet advertisers for trademark infringement or passing off in the Canadian courts. Both such actions provide that the defendant show that there has been no trademark use that has resulted in confusion of the average consumer as to source.

Have you considered these recent changes in your Google AdWords campaign?

Kathryn Szymczyk, Lawyer and Trade-mark Agent with the national law firm Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, has been practicing trade-mark law for the last 13 years both in Canada and in Europe. She has a special interest in the effect that the Internet has had on the use and protection of trade-marks and copyright.

Disclaimer: The contents of this Blog post, and associated opinions  are those of its Author, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of WebFuel, or its employees.

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Google’s New Canadian AdWords Policy: From a Legal Perspective is a post from: SEO Ottawa | Search Engine Optimization and Internet Marketing Agency | WebFuel

Sometimes the job of a Search Strategist (SEO) is more like a Search Detective. Having said that, we just solved “The Case of the Stolen Identity”. Yes – this does happen. Recently, an Ottawa business became an online victim of a local competitor (not only in the same industry but also located in exact same area of Ottawa). This new client not only lost business but during this ordeal, their brand took a real beating. In terms of their search ranking, we are still working on it.

So…. enough of the horror stories (let’s keep that for Halloween).

What can you do? Be prepared!

Solution: Google AdWords Campaign

It is simple. It is cost-efficient. And…. if you only run one Google AdWords campaign, we recommend this one.

Campaign Checklist

Campaign Name: Brand Protection
AdWords Format: Text Ads
Network: Search
Keywords: Your company name – and variations (including misspellings & typos). Also include your branded products (if applicable). If you are a business owner, you may wish to bid on your name as well.
Ad Copy: Description of your services or products.
Destination URL: Home page
Location Targeting: Your service area
Language(s): English and/or French (if both you will require two campaigns)
Devices: Select all (includes computers as well as mobile devices)

Brand Protection Ad Example

For those with a limited budget, you can set up the campaign and keep it on pause. Active if needed.

And… if you have never used Google AdWords, they are currently offering $75 free advertising for Canadians. Check it out today. You have nothing to lose – and only something to gain.

Remember: Never overlook the importance of managing your business reputation on the Internet.

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Google AdWords: Disaster Recovery Plan is a post from: SEO Ottawa | Search Engine Optimization and Internet Marketing Agency | WebFuel

The Art of Marketing is a conference that features 6 World renowned best-selling authors – Mitch Joel, Seth Godin, Avinash Kaushik, Max Lenderman, Andy Nulman and Jeffrey Gitomer – who shared a blend of inspirational, forward thinking, real-world marketing stories, tips, ideas and issues. The day on a whole was exhausting – in a good way. Hundreds of eager marketers filled a large conference room at the Palais des Congrès in downtown Montreal. Ron Tite, the host of the day’s event hops up on stage, full of energy and humor. After he welcomes the crowd, he introduces the first of six speakers – Mitch Joel.

Mitch Joel

Author of the best-selling book Six Pixels of Separation, Mitch Joel is a marketing genius and a member of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40. Joel addressed several new marketing issues faced by organizations and how digital marketing and Social Media are changing the game. Joel shared numerous mind-blowing stats with the crowd, who “ooh-ed” and “aah-ed”. The one that stood out the most to me was that 20% of searches made daily on Google have never been made before. He went on to discuss the demographics of major Social Networks. Joel says that there are more grandparents than High School students on Facebook, and half of YouTube‘s audience is over 34 years old. He stressed that understanding your audience is key. Know who they are, and target them in the right places. “Stop marketing, start publishing” he preaches. People get hung up on the little things and over-complicate their marketing efforts. He explains how a negative review online more often than not leads to sales. Why? People appreciate transparency and authenticity.  “So, what’s the secret?” Joel asks. “Just word hard and be nice to people.” It’s as simple as that.

Seth Godin

After a short networking break, the day continues with super-marketer Seth Godin. Author of numerous best-sellers including The Dip and Purple Cow, Godin is a truly inspirational marketing genius. Like Joel, Godin has an uncanny ability to make things simple. “Don’t worry about what’s next, worry about what’s now” says Godin. “Go ahead, make mistakes – and learn from them!” Godin goes on to explain that we need to stop shouting our messages at people. Old marketing was all about shout – interrupting people with our message. “Don’t interrupt people who don’t like you, organize people who you’re connected with” he says. And as for these people – your customers – they all just want to fit in. Fitting in is being the most average. Godin uses the iPod as an example. Yes Apple make amazing products – he doesn’t deny that. But the reason that they sell so many iPods is not the technology behind it – it’s the marketing. “Apple doesn’t make an MP3 player. They make jewelery with a function!” People just want to be seen with those white ear buds – to fit in, to be the most average. After a short Q&A with the audience, Godin leaves the crowd satisfied and inspired as we head off to lunch.

Avinash Kaushik

Next up – brand monitoring and web analytics expert Avinash Kaushik. As Avinash takes the stage, the guy beside me sarcastically mutters to himself  “Great, an hour of listening to some guy talk about Web Analytics. This should be fun.” Well, was he ever wrong. Avinash took the stage by storm. His surprising enthusiasm and energy was enjoyed by all. His message was comprised of entertaining quotes, educational information and the occasional yelling of “Suck!” and “Puke!” As crazy as he was, in my opinion Avinash was the best presenter of the day. Referring to his books and his blog Avinash says that “People like to pay for things that are free.” His ability to make analytics the most entertaining topic of the day is beyond me. He explained how most people monitoring their brand are doing it wrong. He presents the crowd with a clever acronym – HITS: How Idiots Track Success. Like Godin, Avinash explains that people make things too hard for themselves by over complicating things. “You can’t improve 1 thing by 1000%” he explains, “But you can improve 1000 things by 1%” Great advice. He finishes by declaring that “revenue is good…but economic value is GOD!” Engaging, educational, and a little bit crazy. I guess that’s the recipe for a great marketer.

Max Lenderman

I think most of us in the crowd felt bad for Max. I mean, how do you follow Avinash? That’s a tough gig. But, all in all, he pulled it off. Casually drinking a Molson Export on stage, Lenderman discussed branding and experiential marketing using a variety of real-life examples from around the globe. He explains that people of the world are very brand atheistic and price conscious. That’s how people continue to sell counterfeit products. But piracy and counterfeiting isn’t all that bad. It keeps the big brands on their toes – makes them compete on “the experience”. This is exactly what Apple has done with the Apple Store. They have created an experience for customers that goes up and above the product itself. In closing, Lenderman reminded the crowd to just “Be Authentic”. Simple and effective. After a short networking break we were back for Andy Nulman.

Andy Nulman

Another best selling author and marketing pioneer, Andy Nulman, was next. He shared his theories, ideas and stories about strategy and innovation. With over 35 years of experience in the field, that included a 15 year stint as the CEO of the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival, Andy sure had a lot to say. He opened with a favourite quote of his, by Tom Peters: “Value added in today’s economy is created by the weirdo’s and the freaks.” He encouraged everybody in the room to stop trying to be normal. Normal is blah. You want to be Abnormal! As Nulman continued, he preached to the crowd that the Impossible is possible. It might have been a long day, but the crowd became restless during Nulman’s talk. There was an overall feeling in the area in which I was sitting that he was being more self-promotional, and less educational. I over heard a woman in front of me say to a friend “Me! Me! Me! Me! Me!” referring to Nulman’s constant stories about his own successes. Give him credit he stuck it out to the end, full of energy and enthusiasm.

Jeffrey Gitomer

Last, but surely not least, Jeffrey Gitomer. The 60-something, hard nosed, no nonsense – yet hilarious, Gitomer took the stage. He immediately won the Montreal crowd over by showing a photo of the Stanley Cup on his first slide, and saying “If you’re from Toronto, this is what the Stanley Cup looks like.” Then he hopped off the stage, got down to business. A true salesman, Gitomer exclaims “I put people in front of me that will say yes to me, and then I deliver!” Walking through the crowd as he spoke, Gitomer made a real connection with the audience. “Are you still wasting money on print ads?” he asks with a tone of frustration and anger in his voice. “Good for you. Your full page ad in the Gazette is getting pissed on by some puppy the next day!” He went to explain that “the future is Social. It’s free you idiots!”

He continued by discussing marketing and selling yourself. He told the crowd to reach into their pockets and hand their business card to someone near them who they didn’t know. “If it looks like crap, rip it up and throw it back at them” he yells. The crowd didn’t quite know what to do. Surely some people thought the business cards they were handed were worthy of such destruction, but didn’t want to insult others. “Why does your business card suck? It’s your first impression – make it a good one!” He went on the explain the importance of blogging, and getting youname.com or .ca – and a quick poll of the crowd showed that only about 5% of us had done so. He was disgusted. But Gitomer’s on the edge attitude didn’t come across as cocky, or annoying. It acted as an eye opener to the crowd of seemingly clueless sales people and marketers. “Oh my god,” said one guy beside me “I gotta get my .ca tomorrow!” Gitomer’s message was heard loud and clear. He finished by encourage the crowd to use Twitter – but use it right. Don’t worry about how many followers you have. Worry about being Retweeted. That’s what gets you noticed on Twitter. “Twitter isn’t 140 characters,” he says “It’s 120 characters with space left over for a Retweet.” Excellent.

Joel, Godin, Avinash, Lenderman, Nulman and Gitomer. What a star-studded lineup. I felt very fortunate to have gone to Montreal to watch, and listen to this diverse group of marketing geniuses. I would highly encourage you to take the opportunity to listen to any of of these guys speak, or even pick up one of their books. You won’t be disappointed. Until next year Art of Marketing, au revoir!

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The Art of Marketing: From a WebFuel Perspective is a post from: SEO Ottawa | Search Engine Optimization and Internet Marketing Agency | WebFuel

You may be wondering how does the WebFuel team actually stay up-to-date with search and what is happening on the Internet. Well, first off, we devote at minimum 20 per cent of our time to making sure that we are on top of search. But how do we do this?

We do this in a number of ways:

• Attending industry leading webinars
• Attending Search Engine Marketing and Social Media events
• Attending Google Webcasts
• Attending Google Seminars for Success
• Attending conferences (Search Engine Strategies and PubCon Social Media and Search Marketing Conferences) on an annual basis

As an example of how we “really” do this, this week we are attending the Search Engine Strategies 2010 Conference in Toronto, Canada. This three-day conference is focused entirely on Search Engine Marketing (SEM) strategies. This includes keynote speakers Peter Morville on the topic of the future of search and Maile Ohye from Google. We will also be attending seminars on topics such as SEO, Canadian search, local search, mobile search, pay per click management (also known as paid search), keyword research, social media, link building, duplicate content, multiple site issues, video optimization, site optimization, and usability.

In addition to the professional development component, we also devote time to keeping up with industry search leaders. We do this by:

• Following industry experts on Twitter
• Reading industry-focused blogs
• Online networking through LinkedIn and Facebook

But that’s not all – we also have the following recognized Google credentials: Google Advertising Professional (GAP) and Google Analytics Individual Qualification (GAIQ). And don’t take our word for it, it can all be verified by Google!

All this goes to show that we are passionate about Search. We know the value of a sound and serious search strategy. We do the work on the Internet to ensure that your search strategy is getting you to the top of the search engine results page.

We work with clients like you who are Serious about Search and can clearly understand the value it adds. You’ve learned the value of outsourcing search to the experts – letting us do the work for you. As you know an in-house search strategy doesn’t allow you to stay on top of the industry shifts and trends. Since we devote 20 per cent of our time to search, we know what is coming and how to get you where you need to be.

Working with WebFuel gives you the peace of mind that the latest strategies in SEO, Social Media, and Web Analytics are being used to get you to the top and keep you on the top.

Stay Connected with WebFuel!

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Are you Staying on Top of Search? We are. is a post from: SEO Ottawa | Search Engine Optimization and Internet Marketing Agency | WebFuel