Social Media

Google EU Settlement / Facebook IPO / Long-Form Content

by Barry May 19, 2013

When it was revealed that Google would settle its EU antitrust case by making a range of concessions, I thought it would be worthwhile to look at what these concessions would actually do to promote competition and innovation in the European digital economy: State of Search: What Google’s EU Settlement Means For Search Speculating about [...]

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What Google Wants / SEO Competitive Analysis / Social Media Training

by Barry November 28, 2012

For State of Search I wrote an article explaining my views behind the tension between Google and the SEO industry, highlighting the entirely different objectives each is striving towards and how these collide: State of Search: What Google Wants vs What SEOs Want Then there’s a second area of tension between SEO and Google, which [...]

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Short URL Etiquette / Ode to FrontPage

by Barry February 9, 2012

My latest for State of Search is on a topic that’s been floating around in my head for a while: when it’s right to use your own custom short URL in twitter, and when it isn’t: State of Search: The Unofficial URL Shortener Etiquette Since I set up my own URL shortener (bada.ms) and one [...]

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IP Address Geotargeting / State of Search

by Barry August 8, 2011

I wrote a host of short blog posts for State of Search over the past few weeks to cover for the site’s owner Bas van den Beld while he was on vacation. The most substantial of these blog posts is a case study on why geotargeting users based on IP address is a silly affair, [...]

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URL Shortening / Duplicate Content / Mobile Web

by Barry June 1, 2011

For State of Search I wrote a blog post comparing two URL shortening services: Bit.ly Pro and Yourls. Each has its pros and cons, and which you should use depends on your situation and resources: State of Search: URL Shortening Services Compared: Bit.ly Pro and Yourls URL Shortening services are the lifeblood of Twitter. With [...]

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SEO and Social Media / Panda and Article Marketing

by Barry March 16, 2011

I wrote an article for the March 2011 issue of Business Eye magazine, that we’ve republished on the Pierce Communications website. Aimed at a layperson audience, the article is an attempt to pierce the hype surrounding social media and the proclamations of SEO’s irrelevance: Pierce Communications: SEO and Social Media – Piercing the Hype Websites [...]

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My Own URL Shortener: Set-Up and January Stats

by Barry February 1, 2011

Late last year I decided to use my quiet time in the holiday season to set up my own URL shortener. I like bit.ly a lot, but the idea of having full control over my own URL shortener as well as a ‘personal brand’ short URL – along the lines of yoa.st – persuaded me [...]

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Guest Appearances on State of Search Radio

by Barry January 20, 2011

I was invited to join presenters Bas van den Beld and Roy Huiskes on their regular State of Search radioshow on WebmasterRadio.fm, and apparently they liked me as I was invited straight back for their next episode! In my first guest appearance we chatted about SEO in 2010 and 2011, the Goldman Sachs investment in [...]

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Search and Social: it’s hat-eating time

by Barry December 9, 2010

I’ve professed by scepticism on the growing connection between SEO and social media on multiple occasions. I’ve even written a blog post about it on SEObullshit.com. As it turns out, my scepticism was misplaced. There is a connection between search and social, and it’s a strong one: shared links on Facebook and Twitter have a [...]

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SEO Dojo Radio / the Search and Social Congruence

by Barry July 29, 2010

I was invited to join the SEO Dojo guys for their weekly radio podcast, to talk about linkbuilding and SEO for Google News. It was a blast and I thoroughly enjoyed chatting with David and Terry. You can stream or download the podcast here (my contribution starts 40 minutes in): SEO Dojo: SEO Dojo Radio [...]

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Facebook Takes Social Media Marketing Seriously

by Barry March 31, 2010

(This article was originally published in the Belfast Telegraph on 30 March 2010. It’s been modified slightly for this blog.) Last week I received a surprising email from Facebook entitled ‘Your Weekly Facebook Page Update’. It contained an overview of all the Facebook pages I am an admin of, with statistics on the number of [...]

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Use Social Media sites effectively, or not at all

by Barry February 15, 2010

Social media is the current Big Thing, or so we’re told. You have to Tweet! Be on Facebook! Get Linked In! But do you really? Is it necessary to be on every social media site and shout your message as loud as you can in to as many microphones as you can find? Social media [...]

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