Just in time for your Easter weekend, here’s the search and social developments we here at Anvil (and Formic!) have had our eyes on this past week…
PPC
- The Yahoo Search Revenue Disaster – Yahoo shared its 2nd quarter earnings, and they reveal paid search revenue to be in the tank. Despite the fact that the downward trend dates to the beginning of 2008, they blame Microsoft for a lot of their woes — could this be the first public crack in the bond between Microsoft & Yahoo?
- PPC Campaign Optimization Tips for the Dads & Grads Season – With fancy dinners out and electronics being two of the most popular gifts for both Father’s Day and Graduations, it’s relatively easy to kill 2 birds with 1 stone. What I found more important is to remember that the the end recipient of your client’s/company’s product/service is not the one making the purchase — don’t forget to target spouses, parents, etc.
SEO
- Special Characters in Meta Descriptions – We test these in PPC messaging, so why not in organic search results? Plus there are no strict rules prohibiting their use…
- White Hat Ideas to Optimize Google Suggest Results – Ever wish you could control what queries pop up in Google Suggest in relation to your brand?
Analytics
- Modified Broad Match Analysis – How to view the raw search query that triggered a click and the modified broad keyword it was mapped to.
- Localytics – Mobile application analytics company.
- Google Chrome Holds out on Do Not Track – Google is one of the last browsers to not include built-in support for do not track initiatives. The FTC is promoting Do not track as the best way to help consumers protect their privacy.
Link Development
- Three Link Marketing Strategies For Online Retailers – Don’t put all your eggs in the Google Search algorithm basket. Use these marketing and PR link marketing strategies in online retail.
- You Are the Ultimate Link Building Tool – While tools can be helpful in link building, they are most effectively used to for collection, while the strategy and analysis still needs non-automated human evaluation.
Social Media
- The Winners & Losers of Social Media – This infographic takes a look at the current state of social networking.
- Facebook +Twitter’s Influence on Google’s Search Rankings – Preliminary results from SEOmoz’s yearly survey on ranking factors suggest that social elements have a huge impact on search engine rankings. This is a MUST read!
Local Search Engine Optimization
- Google Killing Tags for Boost – Google will stop supporting Google Tags on April 29, probably in hopes that more people will sign up for Boost ads.
Conversion Optimization
- Conversion Rates, SEO & the Infinite Scroll – Offering an “infinite scroll” feature on a product page has potential to get more products in front of customers, but does it hurt SEO? Can it help conversion rates? This article details the pros and cons of each.
B2C
- Retailer Finds Unadvertised Price Cuts Can Boost Sales – Branders.com ran a test seeing how 3 different price points (40% off, 20% off and normal prices) influence first time shoppers. All price cuts were unadvertised and they found the highest conversion rates for the largest price cut at 40% off.
- Email Marketing: Double-Send Strategy Boosts Donations 55% – Non-profit, Avera McKennan Foundation, resends the same email with a different subject line to those that did not open the first email and discovered a 55% increase in donations.
B2B
- Rocket Content, Your B2B Secret Weapon – Creating content that’s useful to B2B decision makers, but targeting that content to people lower in the company hierarchy is often more effective at influencing decision makers because those decision makers often look to the subject matter experts for advice and guidance. In other words, create content that the subject matter experts will use to influence the decision makers.
- Most Popular Social Sharing Buttons – MarketingSherpa takes a look at the most popular social media buttons for use in email and on websites. For B2B companies, LinkedIn is by far the most popular and most effective.
Retail/Storefront
- How To Use Video to Increase Ecommerce – Online videos can be a great way to increase sales and gain additional exposure. Read these great tips, then pull out your camera and start filming.
Web Design
- Eye Path vs Thought Sequence – Essentials for creating an engaging website page.
- IE10 – The nitty gritty details of the next iteration of Internet Explorer directly from Microsoft.
- Two Decades of Web Design Innovation – This infographic provides a great outline of the history of web development from the first web page in the early 90s to mobile websites today.
Mobile
- How to Create Lovable Mobile Apps – in a nutshell: make it useful, usable and desirable.
- 5 Tips For Large Scale Mobile Advertisers – 1) Separate Mobile Campaigns; 2) Optimize Mobile Landing Pages; 3) Get in the top 2 positions; 4) Tailor Mobile Ad Creative; and 5) Focus On Local Activities (i.e. click-to-call).
- Groupon Going After Foursquare – the recent acquisition of Pelago (makers of Whrrl) will likely add Groupon’s coupons to a check-in-type service.