While Google and Bing argue over who gained or lost a percentage point last month, here’s the far more interest stuff in the world of search and social that we here at Anvil had our eyes on this week:
PPC
- How Social Media Affects Paid Search – How is Google mining their data for social relationships, and how are they putting it to use? While +1 is still brand-new, AdWords has been adding “Social Extensions,” in the form of seller ratings, to text ads since last summer.
- USA Today Investigates PPC Bonuses for Writers – The newspaper is considering paying its writers bonuses based on the traffic their articles generate.
- Formic Media Team Achieve 100% AdWords Certification – Our friends downstairs recently joined us in the exclusive 100% AdWords-Certified club!
SEO
- Bing and Yahoo Pass 30% Search Engine Market Share – According to the latest Experian Hitwise data, Bing and Yahoo both grew more than 5% in March and now combine for 30.01% market share. Of course, it all depends who is doing the counting, as ComScore shows Google and Bing matching each other’s gains exactly, while Yahoo continues to fall off the pace.
- 5 Influencers to Follow on Twitter for SEO – Are you following them?
Analytics
- Upcoming launch of SEOMoz SERP Analysis Report – This new report will eventually be built into the Keyword difficulty tool and look at the top ten ranking URLs for a particular keyword and provide potential ranking signals (their hypotheses on why those sites are ranking).
- Fundamental Guidelines of E-Comm Checkout Design – Based on usability tests on some of the largest e-comm sites out there, some key reminders: Cart pages should be completely linear, use clear descriptions on form field labels & use only one column for form fields.
Link Development
- DIY Guide To Successful Infographic Production – Creating an infographic to gain inbound links isn’t easy. Learn what it takes and what you have to do to create a valuable and successful one.
- Functionalism as a Link Building Approach – Every link building campaign is different. Gain some insight into what will work for you, including examining others in your niche, risk tolerance, and correctly identifying your target demographic.
Social Media
- Are Twitter Chats Part of Your Social Media Strategy? – Looking for a way to expand your social media efforts and try the dynamic approach with real-time chats with others on Twitter? This could be an add-on to webinars and Q&A with your customers.
- See What’s Trending in Your Neighborhood – Twitter Trends is nothing new, but with the recent addition of 70 more cities, you can see what’s trending in your neck of the woods and get in on the conversation.
- 7 Tips for Selling Executives on Social Media – Are you still trying to get executive buy- in for social media? Excellent 7 tips, including a new tool: TweetReach. If your company is heavy on traditional advertising like TV and radio or public relations outreach, executives are used to looking at cost per impression metrics –TweetReach can help.
Local Search Engine Optimization
- Hotpot is Going Places – Hotpot is now graduating to be part of Google Places, which should help to simplify the connection between the places that are rated and reviewed.
- Google Latitude Offers Check-Ins Nationwide – From a Place page, check in, see your current status, and find check-in offers.
Conversion Optimization
- Testing Considerations for Conversion Optimization – ClickZ and Tim Ash point out conversion optimization basics, and give an overview of elements worth testing on your website.
- The Dos and Don’ts of Multivariate Testing – Smashing Magazine offers an inside look at successful multivariate testing.
B2C
- Online Advertising Affects Offline Sales – Google has performed online to store experiments showing a lift in offline store sales, return on ad spend and increases in overall sales. Check out their video outlining the results of the experiments with large advertisers. How are you incorporating online and offline?
Retail/Storefront
- ShopSocially Launches Social Connect for Retailers – The tool allows customers to recommend products from a retailer’s site to Facebook, and retailers to track the social reach and e-commerce performance of those recommendations.
Web Design
- HTML5 Examples – Heard of HTML5? Curious of what it is and it’s capabilities? Take a look at some of these sites already utilizing the next iteration of HTML.
Mobile
- The Android Wild West is Getting Less Wild – Google is beginning to exercise more control over how developers customize Android, and will even give manufacturers who play by the rules a head start when bringing new devices to the market.
- Will “Checking-In” Survive 2011? – Services like Foursquare and Facebook Places were all the rage 12 months ago, but will they ever reach critical mass, or even survive 2011? Maybe, but only if the services offer some benefit to a larger audience (e.g. deals).
- Teens Just Can’t Get Enough of Texting – Some highlights: 75% of 12-17-year-olds own cell phones, and 72% of adolescents use text messaging regularly. A typical teen will send 50 text messages per day.