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You've put an SEO program in place—but how can you tell if it's working? "Ultimately, the only factor that determines success is the bottom-line; like any investment, we do not think that our services are truly successful unless we can provide positive ROI," writes Taylor Cimala at the Renegade Search ... more
Links that point to your business website are one of the most important SEO factors that influence your online visibility and search engine ranking. Are you getting enough backlinks? If not, learn four reasons you may be falling short. more
Best-in-Class B2B companies generate on average 17% of their leads from social media channels, roughly 230% more marketing-generated leads than other companies (5%), according to a new report by Aberdeen Group, which examines the social marketing strategies of top-performing B2B companies. more
"Doing keyword research is like being a detective: you're always searching for those tiny but valuable clues that decide the fate and future of a case you are handling," writes Lior Levin in an article at MarketingProfs. If you're serious about words like sales, profits, and conversions, Levin argues, your research ... more
When you're thrilled with the results your SEO program generates, you might not ask many questions about how it's done—and let potentially problematic practices go undetected until it's too late. "Companies may not realize [when] employees may be taking shortcuts," writes Douglas Karr at the Marketing Tech blog. "And companies ... more
The use of social networks, particularly LinkedIn, among engineering, technical, manufacturing and industrial professionals continues to rise: 55% of surveyed tech professionals now use LinkedIn, up 18 percentage points, or 48.6%, from the 37% who did so a year earlier, according to a report by GlobalSpec. more
Search engines such as Bing and Google tend to change the way they render SERPs (search engine results pages) in reaction to breaking news, favoring placed results (e.g., news, videos, and images) above the fold rather than organic search results, according to a new study by Optify. more
In the push to optimize your Web presence for local search, it's important to avoid techniques that tamper with your anchor identity—the name, address, and phone number contained in your business listing. "Think of your anchor identity as your digital storefront or the glue that holds your online reputation together and ... more
Google Spreadsheets is an excellent tool for campaign tracking, reporting, automating, and aggregating complex SEO and social media tasks. Learn invaluable tips for using Google Spreadsheets more effectively. more
As advertisers continue to shift spending from traditional print media to the Internet, newspapers are failing to make up for the decline in print advertising revenues via gains in online ad revenues, according to a report by Pew Research. more
How far would you go to create the sort of shareable content that goes viral? Would you—for instance—risk your reputation with a video that's almost certain to invite accusations of fakery? In a post at ReelSEO, Jeremy Scott discusses a video that attracted plenty of hits—and skepticism. Did a GForm case ... more
More than one-half (52%) of surveyed small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) say they use social media to promote their businesses, and 49% purchase online advertising (including SEM products) themselves, directly from websites, according to a new report by BIA/Kelsey. more![Five Ways to Make Your Brand Relevant on the Local Web [Slide Show]](https://i.marketingprofs.com/assets/images/articles/lg/030112_slideshow_lg.jpg)
When you conduct a Web search that includes your brand name, your product category, and a geographic modifier, do you like the results you see? If not, improve your Local Web presence by mastering these five key areas. more
Businesses that use primarily inbound marketing strategies for lead acquisition consistently report lower cost-per-lead (CPL) rates than those using outbound-centric strategies, according to the 2012 State of Inbound Marketing report by HubSpot. more
You probably optimize the content at your website—but what about SEO for less formal interaction at blogs and social networks? "B2B marketers should be looking to expand the reach of their social media efforts to drive more traffic back to their websites (and their calls-to-action)," writes Jeffrey L. Cohen at the ... more
Naming a company or a product used to involve a number of factors—none of which related to SEO considerations. But no longer. "It doesn't matter whether your brand is online or not, "[I]t will be googled, " says Ann Smarty in an article at MarketingProfs. "So, before you choose your brand ... more
Local search is a rapidly growing trend and an essential marketing task for businesses that want to increase sales. Are you reaping the most benefits from local search? Learn five steps that'll help you do just that. more
"What search engines are forcing us to do—especially post-Google Panda—is to win quality links," writes Ken McGaffin in an article at MarketingProfs. "And quality links are hard to get." Hard—but not impossible. McGaffin suggests you begin your quest for stellar links by assembling a list of potential link partners and setting a ... more
Facebook ad spending among clients of Kenshoo Social grew 109% in the fourth quarter of 2011 over 3Q11 levels, dwarfing the 27% growth recorded in paid-search spending over the same period, according to a report by Kenshoo. more
Should you conduct search engine optimization in-house, or should you hire an outside agency to do the heavy lifting? It's a question you've probably asked your team before—and each solution has its pros and cons. In a guest post at the Future Buzz blog, Justin Champion of Search Mojo makes the ... more
If you are serious about the words "sales," "profit," and "conversions," you must master keyword research. Learn four common pitfalls marketers make when selecting keywords—and how to avoid them. more
In a post at the Renegade Search blog, Lindsay Atkinson ponders the clichéd adage that content is king. "I can't say that I'm a fan of using this relatively grating term, but I can definitely defend its power," she writes. "Having fresh and unique content is an increasingly important factor ... more
In 2011, mobile shopping increased and iPad tablet conversion rates soared. Are you prepared for the growing mobile and tablet retail environment? Learn seven key trends that will dominate 2012. more
"When consumers hear of a local business that is not well known, it's only natural that they conduct some research before making a purchase," writes Nathan Hanks in an article at MarketingProfs. And when they do, they're most likely to choose results that appear first. "Thus," Hanks continues, "'owning' the first page ... more
In today's noisy business listing landscape, it's important that your online anchor be consistent and visible throughout the local search ecosystem. Here are five essential rules to keep in mind when managing your online listing. more
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