The Week in Review

ROI-Driven SEO: 3 Tips to Convert SEO Traffic

This post covers three methods of driving qualified SEO traffic that converts: 1) synergized efforts between SEO and SEM in keyword research; 2) content optimization; 3) optimizing internal linking. (Search Engine Journal)

10 Content Ideas to Improve Organic Visibility

Surveys, FAQs, online press releases, newsletters and transcripts of speeches are among the 10 content ideas for improving organic visibility, incoming links and social engagement, not to mention conversions. (Search Engine Land)

40+ SEO Tools of the Trade

Here’s a list of many of the SEO tools covered in Michael King’s presentation at SES New York 2012. Among them are Keyword Eye, GoFish, Searchmetrics Essentials, Infogr.am and STAT. But don’t forget to use your head, too. (Search Engine Watch)

Google Spends Big Money on Ads

Google is shelling out big dollars on TV, magazine and newspaper ads to promote new services like Google+ and Chrome. This might seem counterintuitive for a company that has built its empire on online ads, but Google is working to assert itself in other markets, like consumer electronics. (WSJ.com)

Facebook Timeline: 46% List in Brand Page Engagement

According to Simply Measured, brands are getting an average 46 percent more engagement per post with Facebook Timeline. Brands are seeing a 14 percent boost in fan engagement rates. (Mashable)

Facebook Adds ‘Contact Us’ Button to Ad Dashboard

Facebook is displaying a new “Contact Us” button in its self-serve ad dashboard. The company’s global marketing solutions team is aiming to respond to all questions within four hours. (Inside Facebook)

Facebook’s New Ad Features

Timeline is getting the most attention, but it might not be the most noteworthy change for brands on March 30. The new changes coming to Facebook are sending the message that the social network is courting larger companies. Here’s a look at the mobile news feed, offers, logout page ads, news feed ads and reach generator. (AllFacebook)

Twitter Launches Ad Program for Small Businesses, With American Express

Twitter has rolled out its new program for small businesses, in conjunction with American Express. Twitter users will begin to see more ads from smaller stores, brands and chains. (TechCrunch)

Marketers Boost Social Display Ad Spending

According to research from Advertiser Perceptions, 59 percent of U.S. marketers and agencies plan to boost their social media display ad spending this year. Meanwhile, 31 percent plan to increase display ad spending on ad networks and exchanges. eMarketer estimates U.S. online display ad spending to grow 24.1 percent to $15.4 billion this year. (eMarketer)

Building Mobile Landing Pages for Success in Mobile Search

Too many companies are sitting on the sidelines of mobile marketing. For those wanting to get in the game, here are some features to consider: dynamic pages, on-page coding, navigation and Flash. Also, try to anticipate the URL that will be used for your future mobile site, and choose locations for landing pages that will echo page locations of a future website. (Search Engine Land)

How Google ‘Handles’ SEO

Matt Cutts recently made some comments at SXSW that highlight Google’s efforts to “level the playing field” for those who do too much to optimize their sites and those who should be rewarded for creating quality content. However, Cutts should consider rewording his comments so people know that Google can’t replace SEO. (Search Engine Watch)

Amazon, Not Wikipedia, Is King of Google Search Rankings

According to a study from SpyFu, Amazon, not Wikipedia, shows up on page one of Google search results more often than Wikipedia, and has for more than a year now. “More importantly, it’s still moving up, while the Wiki is flat and all the others are either flat or in decline.” (SpyFu)

Google Announces Panda 3.4 Rollout

Google has announced that its latest updates to the Panda algorithm targeting low-quality websites is rolling out now. Only about 1.6 percent of searches are affected, according to the company. (Search Engine Land)

4 Things to Do to Prepare for Timeline for Facebook Pages

This Friday, Facebook is universally rolling out Timeline for Facebook Pages. Here are four things your company should do to prepare for it: 1) create your cover photo, 2) select your icons, 3) pin important posts and 4) display milestones. (Business 2 Community)

Pinterest’s New Terms of Service

Pinterest’s terms of service are changing for the better. Among the main changes are the removal of the mention of selling your content, the proclamation that the company will remove pins that explicitly encourage self-harm or self-abuse, and the preparations for features like Pinterest API and private pinboards. (Marketing Land)

3 Reasons Why White-Hat SEO Is Riskier Than Gray-Hat SEO

White-hat SEO is great – but it allows “the true villains” to have their way with your site and its rankings. White-hat SEO is riskier than gray-hat SEO for three reasons: 1) quality original content only means something if it’s secured by domain authority; 2) white-hat link building (for new sites) is a joke; and 3) your competitors can harm your rankings. (The Lazy Marketer’s Blog)

How to Write for Google

Here’s a 25-point checklist for writing Web SEO copy for Google. It includes questions like: Does the page include too many choices? What internal pages will you link to? Did you use bullet points where appropriate? Are your sentences too long? (SEO Copywriting)

What People Do Is the New SEO

Today’s problem is that search engines need to combat overly optimized content with something else of value. Social networking could hold the answer. (Search Engine Land)

BuzzFeed: The Ad Model for the Facebook Era?

“Social Publishing” is a new business model – a “deep experiment in psycho-sociological theory.” BuzzFeed is right at the point of this spear. Social publishers like BuzzFeed are pioneering social network optimization. They have to convince advertisers that their site offers something substantially different and more valuable than all that other Web ad space out there. (Businessweek)

Facebook to Reduce Image Sizes, Lower Character Count for Ad Copy

According to a Facebook document uploaded on Scribd, the social network is planning to reduce the maximum size of images and number of characters in body copy in ads. These changes are slated to go into effect March 31. (Inside Facebook)

SEO and Google: The Ugly Truth

Google isn’t out to get you; you’re not that special; Google is out to get you; the sky isn’t falling. These are a few sentiments to sum up the state of SEO and Google. Shaken? Good. SEO is about more than “link whores and hype mongering.” (Search Engine Watch)

Advanced SEO Practices for 2012

Advanced SEO is a poorly defined idea. What qualifies? Here are some suggestions: brand value cultivation and nourishment; event analysis and responsive strategic planning; and stress-testing the system in safe mode. (SEO Theory)

4 Steps for Using Organic Keyword Data to Enhance PPC Campaigns

Google’s Keyword Tool is great, but it has its limits. This is where Google Analytics data becomes very useful. Filtering out your brand searches, considering the extent of your goal and sales revenue data, and assessing the performance of different themes are just some of the things you can do to help your PPC campaigns with the help of Google Analytics. (Search Engine People)

Email Deliverability Dropped in the Second Half of 2011

According to a study from Return Path, 76.5 percent landed in inboxes worldwide in the second half of 2011, down from the typical 80 percent rate that has held for the past three years. This was the first time the company has observed a major decline. (Marketing Land)

Firefox to Use Google Secure Search by Default

Firefox is set to use a secure method of searching Google by default, which could hinder publishers that want to know how people find their sites via the search engine. This is good for consumers, but not so good for publishers. (Search Engine Land)