Not since the famous “Troubled Times for SEO firms” article has there been so much controversy in the SEO world. On April 14th, 2007 Google’s Engineer/unofficial spokesman Matt Cutts announced on his blog that Google has initiated a new “spam reporting form” in the Google Webmaster Console. Matt Cutts says the new form will allow webmasters to report “paid links” as a form of spam. The announced came shortly after the SES conference in London, England.

In Matt Cutts blog he states “Something thing I heard at SES London was people wanted a way to report paid links specifically. I’d want a few paid link reports anyway because I am excited about trying some new ideas here at Google to augment our existing algorithms.” (more…)

On March 19^th Utah’s own Governor Jon Hunstman signed the “Trademark Protection Act” which won by a unanimous vote. With little fanfare, this bill drew almost no attention, that is until Google and other major corporations started to notice. The new law would allow companies to create electronic trademarks to prevent competitors from using those marks. While this law sounds innocent, the implications are far reaching and affect most companies doing business on the internet, most of all those in search engine marketing. (more…)

I have always been curious as to how far removed the politicians in Washington DC appear to be from the street and the action occuring there. There are day to day survival issues that are faced by every businessman small or large. It seems that the issues that are afforded the greatest attention in Washington DC really don’t impact my very existence nor that of any of my associates, colleagues or partners around the country.

Interesting changes however are occurring in the positioning that is happening for the upcoming Presidential Bid. Mitt Romney a man who has a tie to Utah because of his religion and his involvement in the turn around of the 2002 Winter Olympic games has just announced a strike force of 9 powerhouse players to staff an exploratory committee to raise money and advise on upcoming issues that could have an impact on his campaign. I am very impressed with this cast of characters. They read like a who’s who of business, capital and influence. They are a very impressive team and featured here in no particular order:

1. Jon Huntsman Sr. - Petrochemical magnate and billionaire
2. Christopher Collins - Managing member of First Atlantic Capital in Mass.
3. Mark Guzetta - President of Gemstone Development
4. John Miller - Founding member of the National Beef Packing Co.
5. John Rakolta Jr. - Chairman and Chief Officer of Walbridge Aldinger. (They happen to be one of the largest construction companies in the country)
6. Mel Sembler - Former US ambassador to Italy and Australia and Chairman of the Board of Sembler Company and very large Real Estate Developer
7. Tom Tellefsen - President of Tellefsen Investments in California
8. Meg Whitman - President and Chief Executive Officer of Ebay
9. Ted Welch - Investment banker from Tennessee

I am no political analyst or campaign strategist but if this group represents the people that Mitt Romney surrounds himself with and counsels with. He is indeed a very credible candidate for the top job in the Nation.

As a businessman it would be a great change to have a businessman of this caliber shaping economic policy and decisions. Like any good candidate surrounds himself with quality and competence, so do the smart players in the SEO business. Utah Web Services and Utah SEO have done just that. Our extraordinary team of bright and capable strategists have done amazing things for our clients as well as for us. It looks like together we all have a bright future ahead, regardless of what happens in November of 2008.