The Week in Review

The Wrath of Panda: 7 SEO Mistakes to Avoid

SEOs used to worry about generating content – now they have to worry about generating high-quality content. Internal true duplicates; outside-site true duplicates; internal near-duplicates; external near-duplicates; search within search; high structure site design, low copy density; and high ad ratios are the seven mistakes to avoid, lest you incur the fury of Panda. (Search Engine Journal)

Linking Strategies for Google ‘Search Plus Your World’

Google’s “Search Plus Your World” update has everyone talking, but how can you prepare for it from a linking perspective? The first key is to not panic. Then it’s time to consider permanence, embracing Google+ and +1 buttons, and learning the ins and outs of “Search Plus Your World,” among other things. (Search Engine Land)

A Beginner’s Guide to Creating Content for SEO

For those who are new to the realm of search marketing, this post offers a rundown of SEO content. It answers three main questions: What is “SEO content”? What types of SEO content are there? What is my SEO content strategy? (WordStream)

Content Marketing Trends for 2012

“With so much attention focused on the progress that content marketers have made over the past year, it’s impossible not to ask what 2012 might bring.” This post looks at what’s in and out regarding messaging, channels, curated content and search engine optimization. (MarketingProfs)

21 Tactics to Increase Blog Traffic

“It’s easy to build a blog, but hard to build a successful blog with significant traffic.” Here’s a rundown of 21 tactics to use to boost your blog’s traffic. It touches on tactics like targeting your content to an audience likely to share, making your blog’s content SEO-friendly and incorporating great design into your site. (SEOmoz)

How to Black out Your Site Without Hurting Your SEO

If you’re one of the websites planning to "go black" this week in protest of SOPA and PIPA, you should consider the SEO implications. "How do you take your site offline in protest without messing up your visibility in Google’s search results?" The short answer is to use a 503 HTTP status code. (Search Engine Land)

7 Alternatives to Google Analytics

Believe it or not, Google Analytics isn’t the only website analytics suite out there. There are many others, and some of them are good. Clicky, Mixpanel and Open Web Analytics are among the seven to consider. (Search Engine Journal)

A Link-Builder’s Gmail Productivity Setup

This link-builder shares some tips on how to "markedly increase the speed of sending linkbuilding emails, as well as help you provide context to them with the goal of increasing your response rate." His discussion points touch on Gmail shortcuts, canned responses and Boomerang, among other things. (SEOmoz)

5 Stages of Coping With Loss of Search Query Data

"After Google sufficiently handcuffed the Internet marketing world by choosing to default to SSL search for signed-in users, it removed the ability to track referring keywords… and a piece of my heart. There is no doubt proving the value of SEO efforts just got harder." Here are five steps to recovery: 1) denial, 2) anger, 3) bargaining, 4) depression and 5) acceptance. (Search Engine Watch)

Search Spend Grew 14% in Q4 2011

According to Efficient Frontier’s "Q4 Digital Marketing Performance Report," search spend in the fourth quarter increased 14 percent year-over-year in the U.S. Facebook spend share reached 2.7 percent of biddable online ad spend during the quarter. The report also notes that Google maintained 80 percent of spend share in the fourth quarter, though Yahoo/Bing clicks yielded 14 percent more revenue per click than Google. (Efficient Frontier)

226 Marketing Trends, Predictions and Resolutions for 2012

You’ve probably seen many “2012” lists, but this one probably tops them all. Here’s a huge roundup of marketing tips, trends and resolutions for 2012 – 226 such articles, to be exact. (Marketing Land)

Why Google Is Ditching Search

All the talk about Google integrating Google+ into its search links misses the point. “The most interesting aspect of Google’s move, however, is its tacit acknowledgement that its stalwart search links are largely irrelevant and might as well be replaced with social results. Google search results are essentially gamed results produced by search optimizers.” Paid ads and Google’s answers are now prominently displayed, while search results (aka paid SEO) are below the fold. (CNET)

Blogger Outreach Tactics for Your SEO Team

The most successful blogger outreach improves your SEO for your client and the blogger you reach out to. Here’s a look at how to build .edu and .gov links; how to increase reach and authority in forums; directories; and tips to increase mutual benefit and improve SEO. (BlueGlass)

4 Email Marketing Trends That Matter in 2012

Here are four email marketing trends that will cause every email marketer to adapt in meaningful ways: 1) major creative overhaul, 2) mobile, 3) people and 4) integration. (ClickZ)

7 Social Media and SEO Tactics Businesses Will Adopt in 2012

Social listening for marketing intelligence, advertisers and brands focusing more on profitability when it comes to Facebook, and quality content are some of the seven social media tactics businesses will take on this year. (Search Engine Watch)

9 Steps for Getting the Big Email Marketing Tasks Done

Email marketers should think big in 2012, but how can that be done with all the important projects already demanding so much time and energy? Among the nine tips for winning over management to secure the resources you need are to make the case for focusing on a major goal, use metrics to get your CEO’s attention and create more automated programs. (MediaPost)

How to Create a Google AdWords Image Ad

Here’s a look at how to create Google AdWords image ads, from the basics to the options you have at your disposal, including the use of a designer or banner-ad shop, or crowdsourcing the banner design. (WordStream)

5 Tips for Optimal Mobile Site Indexing

While the topic of mobile SEO is far from clear, here’s a look at some of the best practices and research. To let Google and Bing know about the mobile version of your site, verify your mobile site in Google and Bing webmaster tools, build and submit a sitemap of your mobile site’s URL to Google and Bing, consider mobile searchbots and robots.txt files, link to your mobile site from your main site and vice versa, and begin a link-building campaign for your mobile site. (Search Engine Land)

5 Ways to Guarantee an SEO Campaign Failure

No one sets out to create a failing SEO campaign, but looking at some of the reasons why some campaigns fail might help you create one that succeeds. Among the five things to avoid are optimizing for a bad website, failing to conduct keyword research and not using social media. (Daily Blog Tips)

Broken Link Building for Content Promotion

"Link rot is a Force of Web-Nature that turns 30 percent of outbound links into real opportunities for you to promote high-quality content." Broken link building involves prospecting, outreach and more. (Search Engine Watch)

10 Biggest Facebook Marketing Mistakes of 2011

In 2012, marketers should avoid the 10 biggest Facebook marketing blunders they made last year. These include overestimating the importance of Facebook Pages, caring only about numbers of fans and thinking you’ll get enough fans from your email list. (Bruce Clay)

Mobile Drives More Search Ad Clicks

According to a Q4 2011 report from Marin Software, 10 percent of search ad clicks during the last quarter of 2011 occurred from mobile and tablet devices. CTRs on tablet search ads were 37 percent higher than CTRs on desktops, while CTRs on smartphones were 31 percent higher. (ClickZ)

Facebook Inserts Sponsored Stories Into News Feed

Facebook has finally done it: The online social network has inserted Sponsored Stories into users’ News Feeds. These sponsored spots will be stamped as “Featured” and will only come from pages users or their friends have already “liked.” Marketers may want to wait out whatever initial backlash is observed before diving in. (AllFacebook, HubSpot)

Real-Life Examples of Google’s ‘Search Plus’: Google+ Over Relevancy

Google’s new “Search Plus Your World” feature clearly favors Google+, even more than Danny Sullivan expected. It also makes Google+ even more important for search marketers. (Search Engine Land)

7 Tips to Keep SEOs on Track in 2012

“A new year provides a great point to review year-over-year data to get a big picture of SEO success without the rigors of seasonality and other factors that can mar short-term analysis.” Among the seven tips to help keep SEOs on track in 2012 are: revisit the site/company’s mission and KPIs, look at your link profile and assess your top keywords. (Search Engine Watch)