Google’s Panda Update Has Turned Two.

This would make for the 23rd Panda update since the first Panda algorithm was introduced on February 24, 2011. Since then Google had 22 updates both to the algorithm and also to the index or data refreshes came this year.

The latest impacted 1.3% of the queries, whereas version 22 impacted only 0.8% of English queries in Google.

Source:Googleseoupdates

The New Rules of SEO for Content Marketing

Rand Fishkin, CEO of SEOmoz, outlines five best practices for content marketers hoping to maximize SEO value in an ethical way.

1. Create content that people will have an incentive to share.
2. Do keyword research, so you don’t waste effort writing about things people don’t care about.
3. Put all your content on the same domain/sub-domain. (e.g. don't use blog.mysite.com, use mysite.com/blog)
4. Stand for something, and write about it. People don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it.
5. Don't separate your brand from your content. For instance, casino sites that make fascinating infographics about animal rights aren't going to last long.

Successful content marketing publications rely heavily on social traffic for timely impressions. They build search rank for their archives almost as a byproduct of good social content. Well-ranked branded publications like Red Bull.com adhere to Fishkin’s advice of producing “large amounts of content people find interesting,” combined with “solid UX” and SEO basics: clean URLs and smart markup.

Source: Mashable.com

The Best and Worst Times to Send an Email (Infographic).

Despite the marketing and PR world's love affair with social media, email remains a key component of any media relations or marketing campaign. Plus, it's the primary way agencies and clients stay in touch.
Whether we like it or not, email isn't going anywhere, at least not in the near future.
For those professionals whose livelihood depends on email open rates and click-through numbers, an infographic with data from email software provider GetResponse will be of great use.
GetResponse analyzed more than 21 million emails sent by its clients during the first quarter of 2012. Among the findings:

• 23.63 percent of all emails are opened within the first hour; that number drops off precipitously as the hours tick by;
• Most emails are sent from 6 a.m. to noon; the least amount occur from midnight to 6 a.m.;
• The hours that see the most click-thrus are 8 a.m. and 9 a.m., and 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.;
• The hours that see the most opens are 8 a.m. and 9 a.m., and 3 p.m. and 4 p.m."The best time to send emails is when customers are reviewing their inboxes," the infographic says. "For maximum open and click rates choose morning and early afternoon."
  Here's the full infographic for more stats:

Source: Entrepreneur.com
Article By: Michael Sebastian.

Slick Ways to Drive eCommerce Revenue in 2013.

Prime Your Paid Search

Unless you are a manufacturer and also the sole distributor of your products, there's a strong likelihood that the brands you sell are on Amazon are often offered for less than MSRP. What's worse is that Amazon runs pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns at the brand and product levels for anything with decent sales volume, always punctuated with "Free 2-Day Shipping w/ Amazon Prime." In a market where buyers expect their goods delivered quickly, this is tough competition.
Fortunately, we also live in a world where it may only take 2-3 days to ship something halfway across the country no matter who you are, and unless you're shipping from China, it's no great feat to leverage your own logistics to compete with Amazon and offer two day shipping. If shipping (or dropshipping) with UPS or FedEx, those carriers provide estimated delivery times in map format based on shipping origin (USPS is trickier, but still works on a smaller scale).
The key is to create and limit geo-targeted PPC campaigns based on shipping data for your 1, 2, and 3 day zones. Make sure your ad copy conveys the message (2 day shipping, 3 day shipping, etc.), and begin testing your messaging and geo-targets. We tested multiple variations of ad copy, but none yielded significant increases in conversion rates unless we eliminated the shipping time frame (for which we saw drops, of course). I covered this in detail last year over at Search Engine Journal and we have yet to see anyone else implement this technique in highly-competitive spaces. You would be surprised how many people don't want to buy everything from Amazon. Setup an ad similar to the one below and just test the results it produces for your niche or store.

Claim Extra Real Estate in the SERPs

Online business is competitive, which means taking advantage of every opportunity. We see legions of stores that aren't leveraging the search engines' willingness to display Schema's product review markup in the organic results. Just as the Google Checkout badge increased click-through-rates for AdWords customers, maximizing your store's real estate opportunities drives more clicks and puts more eyes on your product pages. Amazon's review markup has been showing in the organic results for years. With over 250 million buyers, it's a safe bet most of those people look for the review markup in SERPs (search engine result pages), even if only at a subconscious level.
Unfortunately, for those using SaaS-delivered shopping carts, there is no standard method of implementing the script due to the way different carts generate product pages, and many don't have the feature built into their framework. Depending on your platform, there may or may not be tutorials on how to hard-code this for your own store. If you are not code-savvy, hiring a contractor from websites like eLance or oDesk to implement the snippet on your website is an excellent investment.
Increases in clicks can vary depending on your SEO strategy. For example, we have one store that ranks well for brand pages and one that ranks for a litany of exact match product names. The store ranking for brand pages (where Schema does not display) saw a 4% increase in total clicks, whereas the product-oriented website saw a 7% increase in clicks. Regardless of strategy, adding Schema's review markup to your framework should be a no-brainer.

Implement Behavior-Triggered Offers

One of the biggest revenue drivers for our eCommerce business is entry and behavior-specific offers. If you're unfamiliar with and/or not taking advantage of this, you're missing out on substantial increases in revenue from new and existing customers. Out of everything we implemented last year, this strategy made the most substantial impact on our bottom line and nearly doubled our monthly revenues. Presently, we're converting a whopping 22.5% of new visitors who browse our store for five minutes or longer, with an average order value of $87.14. We also serve an offer to "lurkers" who've been to our store before but never ordered anything. They presently convert at 5.26%, with an average order value of $93.38.
As much as it pains me to share the tech we use to serve up these tasty offers, I' would be a jerk if I didn't. My partner suggested we test out Spring Metrics on a whim (they still have a 14 day free trial and consulting) for smart offers and conversion tracking; it worked incredibly well and paid for itself in two days. I am unfamiliar with their competitors (who offer the full package), but their service and back-end worked so well, I didn't bother to check. The results were superb and I did a guest post for them over at their blog, which you can scope for the full details.

Source: SEOMOZ

Eye on Marketing: 3 Steps to Revamp Your Analytics.

For many small-business owners, big data analysis has either been too expensive or too complicated to consider. But times have changed, and if you're relying solely on web analytics -- how many clicks your web pages receive, for example -- your company might be dangerously behind the times.
A flurry of new marketing analytics tools can help small-business owners understand how effectively their marketing turns browsers into buyers. "There is no excuse now for not having basic marketing analytics on a website," says Elea McDonnell Feit, executive director of the Philadelphia-based Wharton Customer Analytics Initiative, a research center that focuses on applying big data to corporate decision-making.
Here are three steps to revamping your marketing analytics and choosing the software that's right for you:

1. Choose a new e-commerce platform: Online store-building services such as Shopify, Magento and Highwire now also offer users the ability to analyze user-engagement. The interfaces are simple enough for the non tech-savvy, and can help design customer rewards programs, discounts and gift cards.
Most include free mobile features and integrate with tools such as Google Analytics to actively measure their effectiveness. Magento, now owned by eBay, offers a free open-source version (designed for developers), and an easier to use commercial product for $15 per month. Shopify's software starts at $29 a month and Highwire's starts at $20 per month.
Related: 10 Online Marketing Trends for 2013
2. Control your social chatter: Driving and monitoring interest in the content you publish on your company's blog, Facebook and Twitter accounts is known as "inbound marketing." Companies such as Hubspot can help monitor and compile the data from all those social channels in one location, while tracking which customers engage with your social activity and which platforms drive the most user interest.
Hubspot can also tell you if a follower is a "social influencer" based, for example, on the size of his or her Twitter following. It also lets you set up automated email messages to follow up with these "power" followers.
Hubspot's basic package starts at $200 per month. Similar tools include social media dashboard Hootsuite (basic accounts are free), U.K.-based social media monitoring and analysis tool Sentiment Metrics (starts at $475 per month) and SocialMention, a free program that allows you to track what people are saying about your company, your products or any keywords you set.

3. Start merging online and offline data: Tracking your customers in stores and online can be ideal, but services that provide such a 360-degree view often come at high prices. Still, there are affordable work-arounds for small businesses.
Offering e-mailed receipts -- using companies like Third Solutions -- can save paper and help translate in-store customer information into digital data that can be used to send coupons, promotions and messages directly to those customers. It can also help give you a more complete understanding of purchasing history and sales trends. Pricing varies, though a basic package including marketing capabilities starts at around $500 per year.
Implementing digital punch cards or loyalty programs can also help brick and mortar retailers collect the same data in-store as they would online. RewardLoop, for instance, allows users to scan their in-store receipts to receive points -- a gamified way to incentivize future purchases, but also to collect the purchasing history of each individual customer. Prices start at $40 per month.

Source: Entrepreneur.com
Article By: Julie Cohn.

10 Online Marketing Trends for 2013.

1. A surge in 'second screen' value: By second screen I'm referring to mobile. With more than 75 percent of the world having access to mobile devices, today’s marketer can’t ignore the value of offering second screen value for their brands and clients.
Last year we were tasked with making our websites mobile-friendly -- meaning responsive and easy to use on mobile devices -- but this year will be all about offering value in mobile app form. What value can your brand or client offer a mobile device user? It goes beyond ease of use and searching ability. This type of value will be in new information, new formats for consumption and entirely new resources.

Related: No Mobile Website? You're Probably Turning Customers Away
2. The evolution of 'attribution modeling': Last year was one heck of a year for analytics. We saw the rise of analytics packages and solutions, breaking down channel silos and marketers taking a more holistic approach to what's called attribution tracking -- the process of assigning a specific value to a marketing action that results in a conversion.
Marketers have been over valuing the last click. We know now it’s more complicated than that.
This next year, we will see continued evolution in attribution modeling and creative approaches to tracking how channels affect each other. I anticipate the large analytics providers out there will continue to innovate on their current offerings as well as open them up to the rest of us.
3. The rise of gamification: Applying game-design thinking to non-game applications to make them more fun and engaging has been growing steadily, but expect it to reach a tipping point in 2013. Big brands, new startups and every company in-between will be spending more money and resources on "gamifying" their products and services this year. The rise of easy-to-use platforms, such as BigDoor and PunchTab, and the inherent value of an engaged user, have made this a must-consider marketing strategy.
4. An increased focus on 'inbound marketing': With the growth of social marketing, marketers now must invest in adding a new kind of value. Enter "inbound marketing,” a type of marketing in which brands spend resources to create content, conversations and valuable resources that draw customers to their products or websites without paid marketing.
Your budgets this year should include more spend on amazing content, beautiful web design and inbound analytics. Expect to see new software, and upgrades to existing tools, to help you better manage your inbound marketing efforts and prioritize your next steps.
5. Improved data visualizations: I believe there will be a renewed focus on beautiful data visualizations in 2013, which is the way we visualize complex data sets in easy to understand formats that are worth sharing. Last year we saw big data catch fire, but this year we will need to make that data accessible to everyone.
Perhaps more importantly, the marketers you work with or employ will need to question the ways they’ve made their data cases in the past. How can they use new visualization software and techniques to evangelize a data-driven culture, and make your marketing mission a company-wide one?

Related: 5 Ways to Take Customer Loyalty to the Next Level
6. More loyalty marketing: By now, we are all pretty aware that it is more costly to acquire a new customer than to retain an existing one. Add to that how consumers have never before been so connected and willing to share opinions of purchases and experience. Guess what you get? Marketers brainstorming creative ways to make customers feel appreciated and satisfied. What was once an afterthought should now find its way into the early stages of marketing roadmaps.
7. Brands as social influencers: Thanks to platforms such as Pinterest, Facebook and Foursquare, we've seen brands build followings of unparalleled size, which has left them with legitimate influence over consumers. In 2013 we will see brands continue to grow their communities and the reach of their voice, opinions and products.
Marketers should be asking themselves, “Where are we participating?” and “What value are we offering?” It's ideal for a brand to build an audience of engaged participants around the great content it shares. If you're not sure where to start, go to the sites you know where people are already talking about your brand. Jump in and engage.
8. More analytics: As we see more marketing channels in play and an improved ability to understand how they all touch, I predict marketers will be seeking out new ways to prioritize their many opportunities. Unlike traditional web analytics -- the measurement of how your website is performing -- marketing analytics is the measurement and optimization of your marketing activities.
Businesses will turn their efforts to marketing analytics to steer their product roadmaps, hiring plans and market moves. Rather than invest in the channels that you’ve always invested in, this year the tools should become available to make better decisions.
9. Design is king: Piggybacking the growing importance of inbound marketing and the trend in improved data visualizations comes a rising of the bar around web design. With designer community sites like dribbble and forrst, we’ve seen the design community grow in leaps and bounds. Beautiful design has never been so affordable and in demand. To stand out in 2013, strengthen your in-house resources or contract a team to get your website design up-to-speed.
10. Local marketing goes mainstream: Local companies have never before had so many tools available to understand how to improve local search results, engage with customers and measure their success. Sites like GetListed have made local marketing easy to track and manage, at a price small businesses can afford. This New Year will only bring more, and improvements to those already out there. That is why I believe we will see local marketing demystified for the masses, and more successful small businesses as a result.

Source: Entrepreneur.com

The top 6 digital marketing trends for 2013

Digital marketing agencies will double in quantity

Online marketing has long "crossed the chasm" and now is taking over the full mass market with the late majority and laggers. A known characteristic of laggers is that they like their products bundled, tested, and at an affordable price. These factors contribute to the increase in digital marketing agencies -- from owner-operated agencies and consultants all the way to creative agencies offering the full span of sophisticated online services. The digital marketing agency is only going to grow.

Marketers become data geeks

The growth of digital data will be 44 times greater in 2020 than it was in 2009. That volume of data production is pretty overwhelming for marketers who aren't smart about how they use that knowledge. Marketers and agencies will need to analyze, interpret, and translate this data into meaningful insight and actions. Attributing revenue to the correct marketing source will be increasingly important. More B2B companies will adopt multi-channel reporting to judge the effectiveness of their channel mix and determine each channel's incremental contributions. In addition, these analytics will be used to refine segmentation and targeting.

Agencies dive deeper into technology

Code is the universal language of the internet. It's the foundation of all things digital. Agencies and marketers will be expected to understand "the back-end" of everything as the level of complexity to deliver on brand engagement and revenue growth across multiple channels increases. Knowing what an API is and how to build an interface to create simple and actionable reports will become a marketing requirement. For the same reason, 2013 will see a significant rise in the number of collaborations between agency and marketing technologies.

More responsive websites

User experience is becoming a major part of every website, and personalization is at its core. Personalization will grow, and services that offer the ability to personalize experience will emerge as well -- whether it is cookie-based, login-based, or self-select preferences.

Rise of content creation services and software

Content marketing is becoming the core of every marketing initiative for B2B marketing as well as B2C. As the year progresses, we will see software and services solutions for content creation and syndication emerge and grow as companies try to leverage content for demand generation.

Stronger connection between offline and online events

Nowadays, there is a lot of discussion about the connection between the digital world and the physical world. Cross-channel campaigns will include offline events such as direct mail, tradeshows, city tours, and networking events. Companies need to tie offline events to online engagement to measure the impact of these cross-channel campaigns. Being relevant to your customer in every context improves your brand's awareness, and engagement will ultimately lead to more customers. This will require marketers to remove the silos in their go-to-market strategy and focus on the most important thing -- their customers. Customers no longer have simply offline or simply online experiences; they have integrated brand experiences.

Read more at http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/33374.asp#8AGfzMGZtl6kdu0b.99

Source: imediaconnection.com

By: Jennifer Wong