A weekly roundup of the most interesting and useful posts and articles on search / inbound marketing from the past week.
Social Media & Content Marketing
Using Facebook Interest Lists to Improve EdgeRank
Facebook recently introduced Interest Lists, which allow users to subscribe to curated lists of people and pages centered around a topic. We’ve shared before how brands can use Google+ shared circles to increase their following. Facebook Interest Lists can work the same way, and make your content more likely to show up in followers’ news feeds.
How to Liberate a Squatter Twitter Account (Really!)
Frustrated that someone with 3 followers and no tweets has that Twitter handle you’d die to have? This post details steps you can take to get Twitter to set it free.
The Brilliant Content Strategy Everyone Gets Wrong
Your content creation is suffering because you spend too much time and energy looking for the next new idea. Learning how to bounce new ideas out of old (or other peoples’) content can relieve the stress and keep your content fresh.
Google+ Page Verification Now Open to More Pages
Used to be you had to be Coke or Ford to get the verified page checkmark next to your brand name on Google+. Now any Page with at least 1000 followers can apply.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Another Google Over-Optimization Penalty?
A comment by Matt Cutts at a conference last week sets off another flurry of speculation. What is Google going after (if anything) this time?
Deeper Look at Attribution Shows Organic Search Undervalued by Marketers
This study purports to show that organic searches early in a customer’s buying process deserve more credit than they’ve been getting in bring home a sale.
Google+ SEO & Google “Search plus Your World” Ultimate Resource List
A huge curated list of links to articles and blog posts about how Google’s socialization is affecting its search results, and how marketers can adapt.
Google+ SEO Testing Network
Many are speculating about the affect of Google+ on search results. Corey Creed is forming a network of dedicated testers who will try to separate myth from reality. Virante Director of Social Media Marketing Mark Traphagen will be a regular contributor to this new site.
Step-by-step SEO Guide for YouTube Videos
YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world. Here’s a checklist of what you can do to give your videos the best chance of being found there.
Paid Search Advertising (PPC)
Demographic Bidding Gone from AdWords
Google announced that it will be removing demographic bidding and reports from the Display Network. The statement “we’re looking at ways to offer demographic bidding and targeting in the future” has led some to speculate that at some point a much more powerful demographic feature will be added, based on Google+ and Google’s recent tying together of all its cross-application data via the new privacy policy.
How To Identify Long-Tail Keywords to Fuel Your PPC Strategy
Why Long-tail keywords can be a boon to your PPC account, and how to find them.
My Beef with Google AdWords
A rant about outdated help pages, exams, and under-trained account reps.
Web Analytics
Is Google Analytics Inflating “Not Provided” Search Results?
SEOs and site owners have been complaining about Google’s cloaking of search query data for logged-in-to-Google users that began last year, but Dan Petrovic thinks Google Analytics may be making it worse. He thinks he’s spotted an anomaly that falsely cloaks some results.
For Clicks and Giggles
Geek breakfast
Quarterback photo by ESPNHS. Used through a Creative Commons License.
