Google Sites comprised the top-ranked online property in July with 178.4 million unique visitors, followed by Yahoo Sites with 174.2 million, while BrightRoll Video Network led in comScore's July Ad Focus ranking with a potential reach of 96% of Americans online, followed by SpotXchange Video Ad Network with 93%. more

Interest in the annual World Series of Poker Tournament drove US Web traffic to online gambling sites in July 2010, while more than 170 million consumers visited an online retail site during the month, shopping for toys, tickets, and other consumer goods, according to data from the comScore Media Metrix ... more

According to Lee Odden, the SEO concept of "fresh content" has been distorted by a convoluted game of telephone—one person giving information to the next, each with his or her own interpretation, until the final person receives a definition quite unlike the original. "I'm sure the genesis was something like: Someone ... more

Google continued to dominate search in July, accounting for 71.43% of all US searches conducted in the four weeks ended August 1, 2010, while Ask's share of searches reached 2.32%, up 6% from June, according to Experian Hitwise data. more

Driven by gradual economic recovery, advances in digital technology, and secular shifts in business and consumer spending, total communications industry spending is on pace to increase 3.5% in 2010 and post a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.8% from 2010 to 2014, reaching $1.4 trillion in spending by 2014, ... more

When it comes to SEO, writes Ian Lurie at Conversation Marketing, "Publishers have it easy: Make some changes, site- or server-wide, and you're a hero." This isn't quite the case, though, for writers and editors. "Editorial staff," he continues, "have to apply sound SEO and online writing practices to every ... more

Whether you're marketing an e-commerce, informational, or B2B site, your site search is a critical feature of your site and deserves your time and attention. And by making some small improvements to your site search, you can reap higher conversion rates, more leads, and happier repeat customers. more

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