I just wanted to take a minute and wish all a Happy Thanksgiving. Times are tough and it seems we hear more negative than positive everywhere we turn but we probably all have at least one thing we can be thankful for, I know I have many. So Happy Thanksgiving and GO COWBOYS!

The Info Group recently received Company Certification status from Microsoft adExcellence. Three employees are required to successfully manage a paid search campaign through Microsoft adCenter and pass the adExcellence test. Mark & Andy Stone and Scott Mattiza all completed the certification process with flying colors.

I finally took a few days away from everything and got my Google Qualified Advertising Professional certification.

To get this recognition I:
• Accepted the terms of the Google Qualified Advertising Professional program.
• Managed at least one AdWords account in a master account for 90 days.
• Built and maintained the Google Qualified Advertising Professional 90-day spend requirement.
• Passed the Google Advertising Professional Exam. (I won’t reveal my score but suffice it to say I could make the honor roll)

The next step is Microsoft adExcellence certification. Yahoo has discontinued their ad professional certifications.

Here we are in the New Year! I’m sure a lot of people are asking where did 2008 go but as they say you can’t look back and so I won’t except to say it was a great year with several highlights.

So 2008 was great and 2009 looks to be even better especially for search. Several questions intrigue me, like, how much will mobile search grow? How will Google promote impact search engine rankings?

I wish you all a wonderful and prosperous New Year!

What a wonderful response to our newly launched live SEO Training Class available from Smart On SEO. The SEO Starter classes in September have filled up and the response to the October 7 & 21 classes have been just as enthusiastic. If you are looking to learn the fundamentals of effective search engine optimization, REGISTER NOW!

In our SEO Starter course you will learn:

• Identifying technical website problems
• Keyword research
• Title and Meta tag development
• Content optimization
• Internal linking
• Increasing link popularity
• Analyzing your results

This class was built on 10+ years of real SEO experience, so learn from an SEO Expert and register today!

We are proud to annouce a new venture, Smart On SEO! Over the past 11 years many customers and prospects have express a desire to learn search engine optimization and so using the old saying “experience is the best teacher” as our mantra we have developed a one day class that leaves the attendee with a plan and the tools to fast track their SEO project.

If chat rooms, forums and online video just don’t hack it for you, join us and learn what it takes to provide a solid SEO foundation for your website. Our live, one-day class includes:

So if you are a entrepreneur, small business owner, or a sales and marketing professional interested in maximizing your online marketing budget by increasing the visibility of your website in the natural results of search engines, then REGISTER and get Smart On SEO!

We had a great time attending the AirHogs game last night. A small way of saying thanks to the hard working staff of The Info Group. Shout out to infielder Cody Merrell for giving the Mattiza boys autographed baseballs and to Fighter Pilot Ace Bacon for stopping by and giving hugs and fist pumps to everyone. To the gang at The Info Group I say, JOB WELL DONE and thanks for the dedication and enthusiasm you bring everyday.

If your company is located in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex and looking for a very family-friendly and affordable company outing I can’t recommend attending a Grand Prairie AirHogs game highly enough.
I’m not making a commission for this endorsement but give J Willms a shout for your event.