• How Online Companies Get You to Share More and Spend More – Not exactly PPC, but a great read on how Amazon, Netflix, Groupon, Zynga & Facebook & Apple are subtly manipulating us all!
• Should You Buy Terms You Rank for Organically? – Simple calculations you can do to see if you should buy specific keywords.
• The 20 Most Expensive PPC Keywords – WordStream recently gathered data based of the Google AdWords Keyword Tool and their own database to compile a list of the 20 most expensive keywords.

SEO

• Final Nail in the Google Directory Coffin – today, Google has quietly and without warning removed the Google Directory.
• eCommerce Website Content for SEO, What is it and are you Wasting Your Time? – A good look at various types of content vs. the feasibility of ranking, conversion and link acquisition.

Analytics

• New Ecommerce Tracking in the Analytics SDK for iOS released – Track ecommerce sales from iphones now. [Internal – add to mobile audit & plan]
• Twitter drives 4 times more traffic than you think – Interesting fact – 62% of links shared on Twitter will be tagged as direct traffic due to links being opened in a non-browser environment (Tweetdeck, outlook) unless you’re adding tracking parameters. 13% of links had another social site as a referrer (facebook, linkedin).

Social Media

• Social media and R.O.I. – A little bit of clarity – Marketing folks have been asking about the ROI of social media for years, but rarely do they ask the right questions. There are lots of metrics and equations out there, but the bottom line is what are you trying to achieve with social media. The real question you should be asking is: In what manner is social media being used to pursue a specific business objective, and to what degree are specific social media activities driving that business objective?
• Microsoft to Launch New Social Network Called Tulalip Via Socl.com – Microsoft “accidentally” pushed their new social media platform last week. The software giant paid $2.6 million for the socl.com URL and they are expected to try to grab a piece of the social pie shortly.
• 6 Ways to Convert Social Media Traffic Into Leads – Best practices to optimize your social and web presence to turn your likes into leads. Start with email subscriptions, add calls to actions and advertising, and convert your new traffic with landing pages.
• Google+: The Complete Guide – Mashable’s complete guide to Google+. This explains the service, platform, and initial best practices.

Local Search Engine Optimization

• Google Boost Bid Pricing Will Baffle the SMB – Lack of transparency on how Boost determines bids – example of one business seeing bid go from about $4 to $20.
• Google Maps Bug: Business Pending Review – Verified Google Places listings have been suddenly changing to “Pending” status, from the “Active” status. A Google Places Help thread has confirmation from Google that this is indeed a bug.

• Foursquare to Offer 3rd Party Daily Deals – Foursquare will begin to publish daily deals from Groupon, LivingSocial and more, taking a cut along with each one sold.
• Facebook Testing Parent/Child Place Pages – One of the long-awaited features in Facebook Places is starting to emerge – parent/child Place Pages for business with multiple locations. However, it is only in private testing for now.

B2C

• Shoppers Willing to Connect with Retailers on Facebook –  According to recent study by Shop.org, “35% of online shoppers said they would be likely to make a purchase through Facebook.”

B2B

• B2B Marketing Guide – Great infographic on how B2B companies are allocating their marketing dollars, and where future increases will be made.
• 4 Ways to Use Teleprospecting – Article outlining how to run a successfull B2B teleprospecting campaign, and when NOT to use teleprospecting.

Web Design

• Call to Action Buttons – Factors to consider when creating call to action buttons.
• Google Apps dropping IE7 Support – Each time a new version is released, Google will begin supporting that version and stop supporting the third-oldest version.

Mobile

• Apple’s IAd Mobile-Ad Service Said to Cut Prices as Clients Turn to Rivals – As pressure from ad rivals AdMob, Millennial Media and Greystripe intensifies, Apple is said to be lowering iAd minimum buys.
• More Americans turning to smartphones as primary way to access the internet – A quarter of Americans now use smartphones as the main way to access the internet, instead of using a desktop or laptop.  Other interesting finding: black and Hispanic populations continue to lead adoption with 44% penetration.
• Choosing a mobile support strategy – Interested in you mobile options for your website?  This article can help you determine the next step in your sites handheld evolution.
• Making your newsletter Mobile Friendly – How to make your newsletter mobile friendly.
• PayPal Introduced NFC Support – PayPal can help spread consumer adoption of NFC with its new support. As an example, people can now send money just by tapping phones together.