Want to increase traffic to your site? A recent article at the SEO Traffic Spider recommends using social-media optimization (SMO) as a highly effective method for search-engine optimization of any website. As the name implies, you optimize your site by advertising it through social-media sites and online communities. According to the ... more

Historically, companies that monitor links to their websites haven't looked kindly upon inbound "deep links"—links to site pages other than the homepage or other top-level pages. But the truth is that deep links can actually be really good for a website. Here are five benefits they provide. more

In a post at the Online Marketing blog, Lee Odden notes that one of the biggest fears for website owners is a sudden drop in search-engine rankings. Case in point: Google's recent 'Mayday' algorithmic change affecting long-tail searches (see Google Webmaster Matt Cutts' video explanation). It left many webmasters up-in-arms ... more

E-commerce sites can be particularly challenging for search-engine optimization (SEO) because they tend to lack unique, relevant content. The challenge can be easily (though not necessarily quickly) overcome with these five content techniques that can help you search-optimize e-commerce websites. more

Small-business advertisers spent on average $2,231 on search advertising in the second quarter of 2010, up 159.7% from the $859 spent in the same period a year earlier, and up 1.4% from the $2,201 spent in the first quarter of 2010, according to a WebVisible study based on its small-biz ... more

"Facebook has more than 400 million active users who collectively spend more time on the platform than on any other website in the world, sharing detailed information about their likes, dislikes, and preferences," writes Matt Lawson at MarketingProfs. In other words, the social networking powerhouse is a potential bonanza for search ... more

To help drive viewers to online content, a just-launched platform uses linguistics technology and search marketing best-practices to integrate social media with search engine optimization (SEO). Search engine marketing and design firm Zog Media launched the platform, dubbed Project Redline, in partnership with social media press release builder PitchEngine. more

Tentative growth in the US advertising market has begun to propel the global ad recovery, prompting a revised forecast of global ad expenditure, now projected to grow 3.5% in 2010, up from the 2.2% forecast in April, 2010, according to projections by ZenithOptimedia. more

"The true test of pursuing either an SEO campaign or pay-per-click (PPC) advertising (or both)," writes Scott Buresh in a recent Pro article at MarketingProfs, "is knowing that it all boils down to your company philosophy, return on investment (ROI) objectives, budget, and numerous other monetary and marketing factors." To help ... more

Weakening economic signals are having their effect on the employment outlook for digital and direct marketers in the third quarter (Q3), according to the latest quarterly employment report by Bernhart Associates Executive Search, LLC. more

Most marketers are eager to achieve a level of engagement with current and prospective customers, but the majority stop dead in their tracks when they consider this question: Where am I going to find the time to develop all the content necessary to do it? But here's a little secret: ... more

Though Google continued to dominate search in June, accounting for 71.65% of all US searches conducted in the four weeks ended June 26, Bing's share of searches reached 9.85%, up 7% from May, according to Experian Hitwise data. more

"It doesn't matter how great your video is," writes Larry Kim in a Pro article at MarketingProfs. "[I]f people don't know it exists, it doesn't have much business value." That means you have to optimize your YouTube video for maximum visibility. So, how do you get the crowd to turn ... more

The manufacturing sector is showing early signs of recovery: 70% of industrial-sector marketers expect their sales to increase in 2010 over 2009 levels and 31% plan to increase their marketing budgets—with much of those dollars earmarked for online channels, such as video, social media, and search, according to a ... more

There has been much debate in the search community about whether it is proper or even hypocritical for a search engine marketing company to use other forms of advertising unrelated to Internet marketing. The naysayers generally have a common argument: A quality SEM company "shouldn't need" to engage in any ... more

In a post at the SEOmoz blog, Laura Lippay asks, "What makes your site different? Remarkable?" Stumped? Well, one great way to determine how your site stacks up against the competition is to analyze what your competitors are doing right, Lippay says. She offers some guidelines on how best to snoop: "We're ... more

Google continued to dominate search in May, accounting for 72.2% of all US searches conducted in the four weeks ended May 29, 2010, up 1% from April, while Yahoo, Bing, and Ask received 14.4%, 9.2%, and 2.1%, respectively, according to Experian Hitwise data. more

With the Internet's speed and rate of growth, who has the time to keep up with everything on it, let alone analyze your website's link structure to see what sites are linking to you? So asks Nick Stamoulis in a recent post at the Search Engine Optimization Journal. Still, "it ... more

You may be wondering about the evolution of SEO—and whether you'll get left behind as it grows in sophistication. Well, you're not alone. A recent interview with Nathan Thompson at the Inbound Internet Marketing blog yielded some takeaways that may help clarify SEO's development—and demonstrate how you can beef up your efforts ... more

Worldwide online advertising revenues are forecast to reach $61.0 billion in 2010, up 12.4% over 2009 levels, according to MagnaGlobal. It forecasts global online advertising to grow 11.7% in 2011—and thereafter by an average annual rate of 11.0% through 2015, reaching $103 billion in global spending that year. more

Among social media channels, LinkedIn accounts for the greatest number of referred visitors to B2B websites, but Wikipedia is more effective at delivering relevant and serious leads, according to a study by LeadForce1. In addition, visitors referred to B2B websites from Wikipedia spend more time on those sites once they ... more

With the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa set to begin on June 11, US Internet searches related to the World Cup during the week ended May 29, 2010 were up 10% from levels recorded a week earlier, and up 64% from a month earlier, according to Experian Hitwise. more

Facebook has more than 400 million active users who collectively spend more time on the platform than on any other website in the world, sharing detailed information about their likes, dislikes, and preferences. No wonder advertisers are salivating at the chance to reach Facebook users with precisely targeted ads. more

A few years ago, John W. Ellis wrote the post, "If Paid Search Isn't Working, Then You're Doing Something Wrong" at the Search Engine Land blog. Recently, now at his own blog, Ellis reviewed the article to see how current it was—only to find that it is still spot-on! "The fact ... more

Despite widespread consumer adoption of social media, advertisers on average allocated just 4% of their media spend to the channel in 2009, relying instead on traditional, proven online media choices that were in place before the economic downturn, according to data from interactive agency Razorfish. more