Yes, there is a new sheriff in keyword research town. Google has now officially mad the newer version of their Adwords keyword resarch tool, launched in September of 2009, the default. You can still access the old tool via a link in the top right of the page, but I imagine that will go away soon. Google is non-committal about when the old tool will fall into oblivion, but does note that at some point it wil. So I say just start using the new one and get used to it now.

The new tool has a captch just like the old one did. The interface is a bit clunky but I have a feeling that is a result of it just being new to people. Like anything, with time it will become more familiar and easier to use. I'm still playing around with the new tool so I ...

A big problem today is clients who do not own their success and failures. The world is full of clients that want to blame everyone but themselves for failures. Especially now that the have a fantastic excuse, the economy. Well there are plenty of businesses succeeding in today's economy too! SEO consultants need to be more firm in getting their clients to "own" their successes and their failures. Because the more ownership a client has in their marketing campaigns the more successful they will be.

I have seen it over and over again. A client hires you and then expects to not have to lift a finger or bat an eye. "What the hell am I paying you $2000 a month for," they boast. And that shows the fundamental problem, they never took any ownership in their campaign. Unfortunately most consultants cower because they do not want to lose ...

With tighter and tighter budgets SEO consultants need to be more resourceful than ever! There are many free or low cost things that and SEO can implement and that can be very effective in driving traffic and sales. Here are some:

• Local Optimization

Often over looked, local SEO is pretty easy and very cheap. Claim and optimize your Google local account, as well as any others that you can. If you want to automate try going through companies like Localeze.

• Commenting and Guest Posting

Commenting on relevant industry blogs will not only build links but will also attract eyeballs to your site. Result = WIN-WIN. And guest posting is becoming increasingly accpeted and is a great way to get link and attract new visitors as well.

• Conversion Optimization

Changing ad copy, meta descriptions, and various elements on a page can have a HUGE impact on your bottom line. Google analytics and ...