JC Penney got out of the dog house, Batman launches a crazy Twitter campaign, and  59% of men at least think they have some decision making power.  What do we have our eye on in the world of search & social here at Anvil?  Here you go…

PPC

• Comparison Ads Now a Part of Google Advisor – Of potential interest to financial services clients, Google Advisor helps consumers compare offers and make decisions about mortgages, credit cards, savings accounts and other banking services.  The comparison ads beta is open to select advertisers at this time, but is expected to expand.
• 4 Reasons to Not Break Your Campaign’s Continuity – Without discounting the importance of campaign reorganizations and ad text/destination URL testing, there are some very valid reasons to maintain a steady hand when it comes to paid search.
• PPC Management for Large Accounts – A good discussion of the particular challenges and best practices of optimizing & monitoring an enterprise-size paid search campaigns.

SEO

• 90 Days Later, JC Penney Regains Its Google Rankings – The company has regained first- and second-page rankings on a number of terms that were mentioned in a New York Times exposé of Penney’s search rankings and the tactics used to get them — tactics that violated Google’s guidelines.
• Google Testing URL Above Search Results Snippet – reports are surfacing that show the URL above the description (but below the title) as opposed to below. These tests are likely to see its impact on organic click through rates, if any.
• Diagnose Instant Previews in Webmaster Tools – A new tool in the Labs section allows you to view any page on your site and render it as an Instant Preview, essentially allowing you to find potential problems.

Analytics

• Yahoo Analytics 10 Released – Look for additional segmentation and audience segmentation features. Directly integrates with Yahoo’s Right Media Exchange so you can directly target your audiences as defined through audience segments in Analytics.
• Track Website Optimizer Tests with WordPress GA plugin – Detailed explanation of how to install GA & GWO code to all play nicely with each other. There are also links on how to do this on non-wordpress sites, but it looks a little more technical.
• How People Sign Into Online Services – This infographic takes a look at the major sign-in platforms most popular with users for various types of sites.  Consider adding these to your sites if the audience is there.

Link Development

• 90 Days Later J.C. Penney Regains Its Google Rankings – After 90 days in the Google penalty box, it appears as at least some of J.C. Penney’s penalty has been lifted and they are now ranking in search results
• A Campaign Prep Checklist for Link Builders – Use this quick and easy checklist to ensure that you are getting the most out of your link building efforts

Social Media

• Twitter launches hope140 – Open exchange where Twitter is highlighting social movements that businesses might want to get involved with. First four: Japan Earthquake Relief, Literacy, Malaria, and Haiti.
• Facebook Like Aggregator Likester Tracks What’s Hot On Facebook – Resource to research personal and friend likes on Facebook. The trending and everyone features allow you to see trending and top likes which can be sorted by  category, by week or month, and country and some cities.
• The True Cost of Social Media – Infographic outlining the costs and benefits of social media campaigns.
• mBLAST – Find people that are influencing your industry through social media.
• Innovative Twitter campaign for the upcoming Batman movie – Audio hashtag, a pixel by pixel image reveal, and tapping into social promotion pushes the latest Twitter campaign for the upcoming Batman movie viral.

Local Search Engine Optimization

• hReview Testimonials from SMB Sites Starting to Show in Places – Until very recently, hReviews from SMB sites were not being pulled into Google Places. It now appears that SMB website testimonial pages have finally begun to show up on Place Pages.
• Friend Recommendations Drive Local Business Visits – most consumers told CityGrid that the primary reason they would try a local business is based on a friend’s recommendation. Online reviews were responsible for getting just 2% of respondents in the door. Also, The top two traffic sources to local businesses were Google Places followed by organic Google search.

Conversion Optimization

• Which Test Won? – Email Subject Line Test: Which Got Fewer Opens… But Higher Clickthroughs?

B2C

• Men Make Purchasing Decisions Too – 59% of men consider themselves the sole or main decision maker for big ticket purchases (>$500), compared with 56% of women. Research plays a larger role in the shopping process for men, compared to women where impulse buying was stronger.

B2B

• B2B Facebook Tabs – Great overview of effective tabs for your B2B Facebook page, including product overview tabs and whitepapers or case studies that require users to “Like” your page in order to see.

Retail/Storefront

• Groupon and Foursquare Reportedly in Talks – On the heals of its partnership with Loopt, Groupon appears to be in talks with Foursquare as well for a new distribution model.

Web Design

• 404 Page Error Design – Designing a fun and engaging custom error page can help keep visitors on your site, even if the content they are looking for doesn’t exist. It can also be a great opportunity to push people to other content on your site.
• 5 Ways to increase product page conversions – Some suggestions for e-commerce stores to increase their product conversions.
• Code Difference Tool – Online tool that lets you compare the source code of two pages.
• Emotional engagement – Optimizing engagement through storytelling strategies and personality segmentation.

Mobile

• How Consumers are Using Mobile Devices – tablets are used most while watching TV, while phones have become all purpose devices.
• Native App vs. Web App: Which Is Better for Mobile Commerce? – surprisingly, it depends.  iPhone users are more likely to convert on a native app, but it doesn’t seem to make a difference for Android users.