The insurance category fetches the highest cost-per-click (CPC) rates in Google AdWords pay-per-click (PPC) advertising: nearly $50 per click, according to new keyword research data from search marketing software provider WordStream Inc. more

A strong search strategy needs content that people want to share with their friends, family and colleagues. But every business faces a serious hurdle: "Branded content is tricky because it's often viewed as 'advertising,'" writes Jon Thomas at the Post Advertising blog. "As we know, audiences trust friends and strangers ... more

SEO experts have spent the last decade preaching a gospel of optimized page-level elements and inbound links. "Those things are still important today," Jonathan Lawoyin writes in an article at MarketingProfs, "but getting real SEO results these days requires not only a technically optimized website and relevant inbound links but ... more

We have known for some time now that Google and Bing use Twitter as a ranking factor, so it'll pay to improve the SEO value of your Twitter account and tweets. Here are seven steps to get you started. more

MarketingProfs guest blogger Scott Spjut shares the details of Microsoft's new adCenter and discusses why most marketers should just ignore the new tool. more

"Negative keywords can … refine your keyword list and filter out unwanted traffic for your paid-search campaigns," writes Jill Solomon in an article at MarketingProfs. "Excluding specific words or phrases that aren't relevant to your product or service can help you reach your ideal prospects, reduce your cost per click ... more

A successful search strategy relies on strong content marketing—and that means recruiting your company's experts to write articles, blog posts and white papers."For some of us writerly types, content comes easy," writes Ari McKee-Sexton in an article at Marketingprofs. "For other types of folks, extracting copy is like pulling bad ... more

Search engine optimization works best when it's the last, rather than the first, item on your website checklist. Don't miss these commonly overlooked steps that can vastly improve your site's performance—before you SEO. more

When searching for local business information, consumers consult between two and three (2.2) media sources on average with Yellow Pages (Internet and print) and search engines among the most popular, surpassing other media sources such as store circulars, promotional emails, and social networks, according to a study by the Local ... more

A content management system is not a search engine optimization (SEO) magic bullet, but it can make the SEO job less painful. Learn how today's tools make it easy to automate the important tasks of SEO management. more

In a post at Conversation Marketing, Ian Lurie argues that every SEO should learn at least two programming languages. And if you think you already meet that standard, consider this: "HTML doesn't count as a programming language," he says. "Javascript might, but not if you're using it to create popup ... more

MarketingProfs guest blogger Darrell Davis of MediaFiche discusses Google's move to have a +1 button, which is inspired by Facebook's Likes. more

"Visits, pageviews, time on site, time on page, unique visitors, conversions, impressions, click-throughs, view-throughs," writes Zack Pike in an article at MarketingProfs, "the list of metrics used to measure the performance of our digital marketing activities is as confusing as it is endless." Dense data can complicate conversations with C-suite ... more

With one fell swoop, Google's latest algorithm update—dubbed Panda—demoted millions of Web pages. Content farms like Demand Media took a major hit, as did sites with lots of ads and little informational content. "The goal of the Google Panda update involves the filtering of low quality or duplicate pages that ... more

The ever-increasing interdependence between search and social media should be viewed as an opportunity rather than a threat. Learn how to use both strategically, and boost your marketing effectiveness. more

"White hat search engine optimization (SEO) principles that apply to B2B online marketing also apply to B2C, but B2B is otherwise a different animal," writes Nick Stamoulis in an article at MarketingProfs. In other words, SEO is simply not the same strategy for B2B as it is for B2C. And to ... more

Email and search marketing still have the greatest influence on consumers' online buying behaviors, whereas social media, though it generates awareness, is rarely associated with direct revenue, according to a study by Forrester Research and GSI Commerce. more

With any lead-based online marketing campaign, it's important to track the sources of your leads. Learn how a new technology, Dynamic Telephone Number Insertion (DTNI), can track website leads based on incoming sales calls—and how it falls short. more

Ever wonder how much meaningful traffic or links could come your way if you search-optimized your images? The answer might be, More than you'd expect. So writes Michael Gray in a post at Graywolf's SEO Blog. Thanks to Google's universal search results, images can help you show up on the first ... more

Using negative keywords in your paid-search campaign can help you reach ideal prospects, reduce cost per click (CPC), and increase return on investment (ROI). Learn how to select negative keywords and create your list. more

Do you optimize all of your online content? Before you say yes, here's a question: When was the last time a press release received your SEO treatment? "All communications, including press releases, can be 'tagged' with key words to receive priority placement in organic searches and therefore drive users to your ... more

If your SEO and social media strategies run afoul of best-practices, you might have a bigger problem than diminished Google rankings: Your brand's reputation might take a very public hit. That's what happened after Adam Singer received this comment at his Future Buzz blog: "Small businesses should focus more on the ... more

In a recent Search Agents post, Mary Hayes reports that Forrester Research forecasts "marketing spend on mobile display ads and search will surpass $1 billion in 2011." She advises marketers that, if they haven't already done so, now is the time to jump on the mobile bandwagon. But Hayes also ... more

The benefits of ranking on the first search-engine results page (SERP) are more valuable than ever: 60% of clicks are generated by the top three SERP results, while the average CTR (click-through rate) for the top spot is 36.4%, according to a study by Optify. more

B2B and B2C marketing have commonalities—and differences. Some B2C rules apply, whereas others have to be tweaked to fit B2B. The same is true for SEO. Here are three must-know SEO tips for B2B marketers. more