By Bill Hartzer, February 17, 2020 at 11:33am CST A disturbing new extortion is being sent via email to website publishers who participate in the Google AdSense program. The publisher receives an email, telling them that if they do not pay a … [Continue reading]
By Bill Hartzer, February 7, 2020 at 9:22am CST. Scammers are using Craigslist ads to try to gain access to your Google Account. When the victim places an ad on Craigslist, they respond, asking to call them. Once they have the phone number of the … [Continue reading]
By Bill Hartzer, February 5, 2020 at 11:39am CST Before many industry conferences and before a lot of the conferences I attend, I hand-pick a list of speakers to meet and see. This list is completely in random order, not in order of … [Continue reading]
By Bill Hartzer, February 3, 2020 at 9:25am CST. SEMPO, the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization, has been absorbed into the Digital Analytics Association. Both associations agreed that there were ultimately going to be more … [Continue reading]
By Bill Hartzer, posted January 31, 2020 at 10:10am CST Digital marketer Mark Rofe, sick and tired of using dating apps that weren't working for him, purchased a billboard to promote himself. Mr. Rofe also set up a website, as well, … [Continue reading]
Avast, a digital security products company, has announced that they are shutting down Jumpshot, a company that has provided "digital intelligence from within the Internet’s most valuable walled gardens". There apparently were some questions about how … [Continue reading]
Google is shutting down Google App Maker, a tool that allows you to make custom apps for your business. App Maker is included with G Suite Business and Enterprise editions, as well as with G Suite for Education. … [Continue reading]
Certainly no one expected this. A Sunday morning helicopter crash with NBA star Kobe Bryant aboard. TMZ, the entertainment news service that first broke the news of Kobe Bryant's death, did not expect this either. The website is getting so much … [Continue reading]
The search engine called WeLeakInfo.com has been seized by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Justice. WeLeakInfo.com was a website that sold access to hacked personal information and account logins. … [Continue reading]
As a search engine optimization (SEO) and domain name consultant, one of the questions I get asked most often about domain names is whether or not the domain name or TLD (Top Level Domain) matters. Will the domain name ending have an effect on SEO or … [Continue reading]
Starting in January 2020 (this month), Google Chrome will start warning users when they visit websites that are not using TLS 1.2 or higher on their secure website. This is a change in Google's policy about SSL secure HTTPs websites, as they … [Continue reading]
The URL Inspection Tool inside Google Search Console is down. Requests made to Inspect Any URL that is on a verified website in Google's Search Console has a message saying that you need to try back in a few hours. … [Continue reading]
Apparently Google mistakenly sent out invites to their highly-sought-after Google Cameos app, then promptly un-invited many of those same people. In the second email, they claim that they made a mistake. Google Cameos is an invite-only Google App … [Continue reading]
In the last Quarter of 2019, I've launched the Digital Marketing with Bill Hartzer Podcast. It can be found on most of the popular podcasting platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Google Podcasts, Castbox, Deezer, Podcast Addict, … [Continue reading]
Local businesses are getting unsolicited sales calls from a company saying they're from Amazon Alexa. The local business apparently can purchase a listing on Amazon Alexa for a one-time fee of $69 plus a monthly maintenance fee of only $19 per month. … [Continue reading]
A social media influencer has been sentenced to 14 years in United States Federal prison for the attempted hijacking of a GoDaddy domain name. According to a United States DOJ press release, "Rossi Lorathio Adams II, age 27, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, … [Continue reading]
Google AdSense is getting rid of their iOS and Android apps in favor more a more favorable mobile experience. According to an email sent out to Google AdSense publishers such as myself, that means that they will no longer support the Google AdSense … [Continue reading]
Network Solutions, a Web.com company, along with Register.com, has suffered a data breach (they got hacked) in late August 2019. They did not discover this data breach until October 16, 2019. They're just notifying customers on November 1, 2019 about … [Continue reading]
The Dallas/Fort Worth Search Engine Marketing Association, an organization I helped found back in 2004, is holding it's annual State of Search conference November 4-5, 2019. I'm the conference Chair this year--and it's being held again at the famous … [Continue reading]
I manage several Google My Business accounts for my clients. Google My Business provides data about how many visits the business has received, as well as how many people have seen the local business listing. This data is available for verified … [Continue reading]