I got to have a good laugh putting together my list of the 10 Best Business Flops of all time.  Some you may remember, and others you’ve never heard of…. for good reason.

10.  Cosmo Magazine Yogurt

Is yogurt sexy?  Um, no.  Apparently the general public didn’t think so as the product was cancelled after only 18 months. Proving that Cosmo is great at sexy magazines, bad at sexy food.

9.  Thirsty Dog! and Thirsty Cat! Bottled Water for Pets

Flavors like ‘Tangy Fish’ and ‘Crispy Beef’ left consumers retching in the PetCo aisles.  Needless to say, it never really caught on. I guess the idea was little far FETCHED.

8.  Atkins Diet

Remember when we’d go out to eat and order a 1/2 lb. burger with two kinds of cheese and bacon and then wrap it in lettuce leaves instead of a bun?  ‘But there’s no bread!’  Yeah….   Turns out eating a lot of fat and calories isn’t healthy….  Insult to injury?  Dr. Atkins’ leaked coroner’s report following his death revealed the cause was a heart attack- shocker!- and that he weighed 258 pounds.

7.  Windows 98 Pre Release Blue Screen

Bill Gates was set to show off the new, unreleased Windows 98 program at a press event.  Much to his surprise, audiences got a front row seat to a big blue screen as the program crashed on the spot.  Gates laughed it off and was quoted as saying, “That must be why we’re not shipping Windows 98 yet.”  Oops.  Oh, well.  He’s still Bill Gates.

6.  Look of Buttermilk and Touch of Yogurt Shampoos by Clairol

Who wants sticky, yogurty hair that looks and smells like buttermilk?  Oh, no one?  Apparently.  Clairol’s launch of these dairy inspired products failed miserably in the late 80′s.  It’s a good thing they were already a household name with several successful products that kept them from being tanked by the failure.

5.  Harley Davidson Perfume and Cologne

Eau de motor oil?  Unimaginably, Harley Davidson perfume and cologne was shunned by its almost cult like followers.  The brand has successfully branched out into clothing, shoes and accessories, but flopped like a fish when they ventured into fragrance.  Yet, Justin Bieber’s perfume is a top seller right now.  Sweaty prepubescence is the scent of the week!

4.  The Cleveland Indians 10 Cent Beer Night

This idea conceived out of an effort to boost game attendance during the 1974 baseball season was actually a huge success- a little too successful.  On June 4, the stadium promoted it’s ‘Unlimited 10 Cent Beer Night‘ and the fans came out in droves.  With tension high after a series against the Texas Rangers, fans grew a little more disgruntled as the alcohol flowed and riots ensued.  Players fought with players, players fought with fans and chaos was the theme of the night.  Having scheduled three more of these promotional nights for the season, the club decided to put a cap on it at 4 beers per person.

3.  New Coke

In 1985, when CocaCola started feeling the heat from ‘other’ cola companies; it decided to launch a new product.  New Coke was born and the company even abandoned its long standing and successful classic CocaCola brand and formula.  Consumers revolted and the company was forced to go back to its roots.  Lesson learned?  If it ain’t broke don’t fix it!

2.  The McDonald’s ‘I’d Hit It’ Campaign

Morgan Spurlock’s movie “Super Size Me” educated people about the content and effects of eating a lot of McDonald’s on a regular basis.  The company noticed a big enough drop in sales to feel they needed to appeal to the younger generation again.  Their idea?  Incorporate some slang into their marketing campaigns.  After all, they’d had huge success with getting main stream pop star, Justin Timberlake to sing their new jingle.  Why not take it one step further?  In 2005, the ‘I’d Hit It’ campaign was born.  Ick!  Even the most devoted McDonald’s fan does not, in fact, want to defile their quarter pounder with cheese. That’s a McDon’t.

1.  The Titanic

We all know the story.  I know!  I went there…  Don’t worry, your heart will go on.

What’s the best business fail that you can remember?

When I think of a panda bear, I think of a cute and cuddly, sweet little animal.  Not so much with Google’s Panda Filter….  You may have noticed a hit or a boost in your organic placement last week.  Well, that’s because Google completed it’s Panda 2.3 Update.  The goal?  Google is quoted as saying, “ this update incorporates some new signals that help differentiate between higher- and lower-quality sites.”  They additionally added: “As a result, some sites are ranking higher after this most recent update.”

So, what does that mean to you?  It means that if your site suffered a hit, you need to be working hard to fix the issue before the next Panda Update.  The schedule so far has been an update every 4 – 5 weeks.  Which means you can count on roughly a month in between Panda filter updates to get things right on your site.  What this also means is that if your site had some issues causing it to take a tumble in the SERPs ( Search Engine Results Pages ), your efforts to repair weak links and spammy text are not going to be recognized until the next time Google’s Panda Update runs.

What the heck is a Google update?!

Google’s website rankings are based on the algorithms it uses to determine a site’s function, purpose and relativity to what the site is telling Google it’s about.

Where does Google get this information?

Google finds this information through several channels.  Contributing factors include both on site and off site optimization efforts.  This includes a site’s metatags ( the code for a page of a site ), incoming links, on page text, press releases and more.  All the things that a SEO Services company like Absolute Placement Today can manage for you.

If your site is consistently falling in ranking, it could be the result of poor  or non existent search engine optimization.  If you hired someone, or took it upon yourself, to build as many links as possible without being discretionary in the relativity of the link’s location, anchor text and placement; chances are you’ve lost some ground as well.

Your best bet is to team up with an experienced SEO services provider to help analyze and fix the issues before the next update occurs.  SEO professionals benefit your business by bringing results producing strategies and techniques to the table that you may not know about.  When it comes to choosing the right partner, proceed with caution though as not all SEO services companies are equal.  See: 8 Signs Your SEO Service Company is a Rip Off

A lot of people operate by the theory that all publicity is good publicity.  However, there are tons of recent examples that rip this thought to shreds.  I’m betting the publicists ( if they chose to keep their jobs ) for people like Mel Gibson, Kanye West  and Representative Anthony Weiner ( that might always make me giggle a little ) are charging triple overtime to repair the damage done by the press that their clients have received as of late.

I’d imagine their first tip is STOP TALKING!  This can also go for online reputation management.  If you find your business on the receiving end of some bad press that ends up online, you need to team up with a professional Seo Services team to help.  One single event or bad review, bad product or ill advised rebuttal can have lasting negative implications on your reputation for years to come.

Toyota has been making some of the most popular cars on the market for almost 75 years.  In 2010, their recall of 8 million cars has severely damaged the reputation they’d built up for the better part of 7 DECADES.  In the earlier stages of the recall and in an attempt at some reputation damage control, they launched a series of commercials addressing the issues, apologizing and assuring the public of their dedication to safety standards and commitment to quality vehicles.  Then, they didn’t talk about it anymore.  Which is smart, in my opinion, and a good move on the part of their PR department.  The hope is that their long standing, relatively good reputation will resurface. Now their marketing efforts lie in promoting the safety and quality of their new vehicles and only addressing the recall issues when they  are forced to.

Will it work?  It did, in a sense, for the likes of Britney Spears and McDonald’s ( see: Supersize Me )….  Don’t leave your comeback in the hands of fate.  If your business’ name has suffered due to ineffective marketing efforts or failed reputation management from your current SEO services provider, contact us.  Absolute Placement Today works with their clients to create, manage and promote their online business.

Search engines are the most common and powerful driver of traffic and potential customers to a website.  By now, most business owners know the importance of teaming up with an SEO services provider to gain the type of rankings and results they need for success online. There are a ton of choices out there when it comes to companies or individuals who promise their expertise in search engine optimization (SEO) strategies that will maximize your return and gain your site better rankings in  the search engines.  Take your time finding the right fit for your company and needs.  Good SEO takes time, effort, dedication and communication on both the part of the website owner and the firm they hire.  A lot of companies find themselves the victim of huge promises with little result.  Optimization of your site is too important a factor in your success to be left to an amateur.

Here are 8 Signs that your Current SEO Services Need a Revamp:

Promises of Immediate Top Ranking for Competitive Keyword Terms -

There really just is no way to make such a guarantee unless there are some black hat SEO practices taking place.  In that case, you should RUN, not walk your way right out their office.  And take your money with you.

Sending Unqualified and Unrelated Traffic to your Site and Claiming Success-

If you sell food storage containers, there is no reason you should rank for under the bed rolling clothing storage boxes.

Putting up Content that is Overridden with Random Keywords-

What doesn’t read well to you, won’t read well to your potential customers either.

Claiming that Optimization is Complete by Redoing the Metadata -

There are a lot more steps to optimizing a site than simply plugging keyword phrases into your metatags.  There needs to be some on page tweeking as well as off site SEO efforts and numerous other steps.

Doing a One Time Overhaul with No Ongoing Maintenance Efforts -

This. Will. Not. Work.

Claiming that the Links Built are ‘Proprietary’ Information -

You should have the right to see where your site is linked, what each link looks like and how it’s relevant to your site.

No Reporting-

If you’re not getting a monthly update, bimonthly or even quarterly report showing what’s been accomplished and what’s up next; you’re getting duped.

Less Frequent or Non Existent Communication -

The SEO services provider that you choose works for and with you.  If you don’t have the direct number to your account manager or they don’t return your calls or emails within a 24 hour period; it’s time to move on.  You, your money and your company deserve more than that.

Those are just some of the signs that should raise some red flags for you.  Don’t waste your money with a company that isn’t doing the job you’re paying them to do.

It’s true, anyone can do a Google search to find what they want.  You simply type in the phrase: dental braces and Bam!  You get back pages and pages of results that have the word dental and braces in them. However, did you know there are certain things you can do to make your Google search more applicable to exactly what you’re searching?  You can easily limit your frustrations and streamline the results you get to more quickly locate your target with just a few adjustments to your query.

Here are a few tips that the average searcher doesn’t know that can help improve the search experience:

Search with “Quotations “

If you simply type in the phrase Seo Services, Google will return any results that have the words seo and services in them in no particular order or relevance.  So you could end up with random blog posts, press releases, quotes  and stories that don’t actually find you seo services.  If you add quotations: “Seo Services”, your search gets smaller because Google will only return results that have the words of the searched phrase together.

Use the +1 Feature

If you’ve done your search and found exactly what you’re looking for, you can use the +1 feature to make it come up again the next time that you’re looking for the same thing.  For example, you did the “Seo Services” query and found AbsolutePlacementToday.com- You can now push the +1 that displays on the top right hand corner of the listed result and Google will automatically push it up to the top of your individual search results.

Search with a Minus -

Let’s say you’re doing research for your fantasy football team and looking for stats on players.  If you’re thinking about snagging Donovan McNabb but you want to know what he’s done since leaving the Eagles, you can search like this: “Donovan McNabb stats” -”Philadelphia Eagles”.  Make sure to put a space before the minus sign but no space after.  This will tell Google to return results on his stats unrelated to his time with the Eagles.

Search by Using InUrl:

If you use InUrl in your searches, Google will only return results that have the searched term in its url.  See here: InUrl: “Designer Shoes”

Search with a Plus Sign +

You can manipulate results with a plus sign in the same way you can with a minus sign.  If you’re looking for schools that offer online college degrees, your search might look like this: “University” +”Online College Degrees”

There you go!  Now you’re ready to search like a pro!

There’s a lot of buzz these days about Google+.  We’re hearing stories of it being blocked by Facebook, that it’s already being favored by the male population ( I have a theory on that…but it’s not blog friendly ) and that it’s basically setting the stage to complete Google’s process of complete world domination. 

Upon my first visit to Google+ a little over a week ago, I find that it’s extremely user friendly.  I mean, how hard is it to drag someone into a circle?  But, let’s look at this a little deeper.  Google already knows more about me than my mom does.  And that’s saying a lot.  I talk to my mom on average of at least 2 or 3 times a day on the phone, we do lunch frequently and she stops by my house on her way home on a regular basis.  I tell her everything.  But, she doesn’t know exactly what I’m doing on my computer 12 hours out of the day.  She doesn’t know that I have a penchant for visiting shopping sites like Piperlime ( in my free time, boss ) to fill up my cart as a ‘wish list’ of purchases I’ll make when I’m filthy rich.  (I guess that cat’s out of the bag now…)  Google has known for a long time and Google+ now knows my friends, what I look like, who I converse with regularly or just stalk.  What will it do with all of that information?  Google+ is not for the paranoid or faint of heart.

For those who may not be in the know, Google+ is the new social networking site that’s been launched by Google.  It works a little bit like Twitter and a little bit like Facebook – a bit of a hybrid if you will.  You follow people, put them in your circles and they put you in theirs.  You can read the posts of people you’re following even if they’re not following you.  There’s an iPhone app and it’s already reportedly grown to around 18 million users in three weeks.  For reference, it took Facebook a little over a year to get to 5 million.

How it will affect businesses and their organic search engine results is to be determined.  I think it will change the game completely.  That’s just my opinion.  And I’m wrong A LOT.  But if you’re a business owner, you might want to at least brush up on how Google+ works because the business friendly version is coming soon.  Get ready, people. Google+ is coming for you.

We all know what we’re supposed to say when we lose….  “I played my hardest and that’s all I can do”, “It doesn’t matter whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game”, “If I had to lose, I’m glad it was a loss to (insert biggest competitor/nemesis here )”.  All of that is fine and dandy if you want to settle for being a loser and feel better about it.  And it seems to be the movement in today’s society; acceptance of defeat whether it’s about sports, weight, school, pretty much anything that challenges us.  I’m not saying you can always change the outcome.  There’s a lot to be said for grace in a loss…  Such as the recent World Cup Final against Japan.  There is nothing that can be done now to change how that game ended.  The only thing those girls can do is keep working as hard as they can, keep perfecting their game and get better for the future.  That’s it.

Change the Game

But how about when an outcome can, in fact, be changed?  Everyone knows the movie ‘Rudy’, right?  He didn’t settle for being told “No, you’re just not that good” and “You’re just too small”.  He was the kid that all the cards were stacked against.  He was dyslexic, small, slow and from a family of 14 kids.  He was never going to naturally just kill the game of football.  But, he was not going to take defeat either.

Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger was rejected 3 times before he got accepted into Notre Dame.  He wasn’t even really a walk on to the football team.  He was on the practice squad.  His job was simply to be an opposing jersey for the varsity team’s practices.  But I think he was a sore loser.  It made him mad and pushed him harder to hear things like, “You can’t do it”, “You’ll never be good enough”, “You’re not smart enough”….  They drove him to be the best he possibly could.  He didn’t settle for showing up in a practice jersey and going through the motions, jumping around a little and waving his arms and jogging from place to place.  I believe he sprinted out onto the field, he gritted his teeth, took things into his own hands and wore the varsity players out!  He made them be the best they could be by doing absolutely everything within his power to make them play harder and think about their game.

Capitalize on Your Losses

My challenge is this, be a sore loser.  I don’t mean go around trashing your competitors or acting out any sorts of sabotage and revenge.  Get angry.  Let coming in second, third and fourth place consume you.  Use it to re-evaluate your game, your strategies, your practices and expose your weaknesses.  Then attack it.

Apple got tired of being second to PC’s.  They got angry about it.  So, they launched what is arguably one of the most successful campaigns in marketing history and are still climbing.  Who doesn’t at least have an iPod these days?  You’d have to have been living under a rock somewhere to have missed the Justin Long commercials, right?  They decided to change up what they were doing and push to be recognized.

Be a Sore Loser

If you’re tired of not being the best at what you do; it’s time to change your strategy.  The race is on to come out on top in organic search rankings and the game has changed.  If you’re not consistently asking questions about how to be better and learning from the pros about the best methods for optimal rankings; then you’re falling behind.  Because if you’re not winning, you’re losing.  Are you a sore loser?