TopRank Internet Marketing News

Chicago is known for many things including the arts and being the home of the most well known mob boss of all time. This November we are excited to attend  SES Chicago with guns a’ blazing. This conference is flush with everything from expert advice on PPC, keyword research, SEO, social media, local marketing, mobile marketing, link building, content, optimization, usability, and so much more. With over 70 sessions at November’s conference there is a plethora of information for online marketers eager to learn more about present and future trends in the industry.

This year TopRank CEO Lee Odden will be moderating a session on “SEO Competitive Analysis” and will be speaking at two sessions on “The Convergence of Search, Social, and Content Marketing” as well as “Content Marketing Optimization.”  Here’s the lineup!

Wednesday, November 16
11:15am-12:15pm – The Convergence of Search, Social, and Content Marketing

If you’re an internet marketing professional looking for the latest in industry trends, practical tools, and tips for executing on your own PPC or SEO strategy, then ad:tech New York is an event that you should not miss.  We are pleased to announce that TopRank CEO Lee Odden will be following in the footsteps of Melanie Mitchell, SVP of Search at Digitas, and serving as the Marketing Master for three sessions at the next ad:tech conference.

When asked about serving as a Marketing Master at Ad:Tech New York, Odden had this to say: “It is an honor to be selected to program the Search Marketing track at such an important conference as ad:tech.  We are privileged to have a great team of presenters from some of the top brand marketers around including Intel, REI, Volkswagen and Salesforce.com.  Attendees will gain practical insight about integrated Paid Search as well as SEO that they can put in practice the same day.”

TopRank Online Marketing has worked with PRWeb for many years and helped to launch their first Twitter Chat #prwebchat late in 2010 by having TopRank CEO Lee Odden as the first host. PRWeb’s parent company, Vocus, tapped Odden for the first #vocuschat this week. Below is an archive of the correspondence on SEO and Public Relations between Cassie Pean from Vocus and Odden during this social conversation.

Vocus will be publishing a roundup post from the inaugural Twitter Chat on their blog that will include the dialog between participating members.

Q1: Why is #SEO for #PR important? #vocuschat

A1: I like to say, if a brand has good news, why hide it? SEO extends reach & sharing for an audience that’s looking. #vocuschat

A1: Measurement & impact on biz outcomes are key focus areas for PR & SEO is extremely accountable & measurable. #vocuschat

As brands adopt publishing as part of their online marketing mix, content marketing is receiving increased budgets – 51% plan on increasing in the next 12 months according to the CMI B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends report.

Our B2B Marketing SEO client Marketo believes this may be at the cost of traditional advertising. With eyeballs moving from the traditional media to digital and online ($55 billion by 2014 according to Forrester) it’s a worthwhile argument.

For even more stats, check out this handy infographic from Marketo based on content marketing research conducted by MarketingProfs and Junta42:

Embed this content marketing infographic on your web site by copying and pasting the code below:

<p><a href=”http://blog.marketo.com/blog/2011/05/is-content-marketing-traditional-advertisings-new-rival-infographic.html” _mce_href=”http://blog.marketo.com/blog/2011/05/is-content-marketing-traditional-advertisings-new-rival-infographic.html”><img src=”http://blog.marketo.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Content-Marketing-Infographic-by-Marketo.png” _mce_src=”http://blog.marketo.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Content-Marketing-Infographic-by-Marketo.png” alt=”Content Marketing Infographic” border=”0″></a></p> <p>

Are content marketing and traditional advertising mutually exclusive? Or do you think they work better together?

Microsoft to Acquire Skype for $8.5 Billion IN CASH. Yes, you read that correctly. Just last week we posted about Google and Facebook in talks with the Internet Communications company. Skype will support Microsoft devices like Xbox and Kinect, Windows Phone and a wide array of Windows devices, and Microsoft will connect Skype users with Lync, Outlook, Xbox Live and other communities. Via Microsoft.

75% of journalists use Facebook and 69% use Twitter as a tool to assist in reporting. Society for New Communications Research and Middleberg Communications Announce Results of the 3rd Annual Survey of Media in the Wired World. Via Digital Journal

Buyersphere Report: 68% of buyers visit supplier websites and 65% use search engines to connect with information to help them make purchasing decisions. While social media use doubled, it’s still substantially less than “traditional” online channels. Connecting UK Social Media Marketing with Buyer Behavior. Via Grow.

Google offers more guidance on building high-quality sites. Feeling the effects of Panda? It might not be Panda that’s causing problems for your website’s visibility on Google. They’ve rolled out numerous updates recently and the big focus on quality is something website owners should pay attention to. Via Google Webmaster Central Blog.

How to Establish a B2B Social Media Benchmarking Plan. Via Search Engine Watch.

The 2nd Wave of Location-Based Services. Via ClickZ.

How Female Influencers Communicate Online. Via eMarketer.

The big shift: Moving from impressions to engagement. Via PRSA.

Stop for the STAT:
84% use mobile search to look for information on local retailers. Econsultancy.

90 percent of online retailers said search-engine marketing was the most effective source used to acquire customers. Via Entrepreneur.

Excellent content checklist incorporating SEO and Social Media promotion from Content Marketing Institute. (pdf)

Facebook to Buy Skype? Now that would be BIG. Two reliable sources say Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is talking to Skype about either buying the company or forming a joint venture, according to Reuters. Via Mashable. According to Reuters, Google is talking to Skype too.

Why online retailers will miss out on $18 billion this year. 71% of online shoppers abandon their carts, which translates to about $18 billion in lost revenue. The solution? Remarketing. For specifics, follow the 5 tips from Ross Kramer in the article. Via iMedia Connection.

Google Places Business Photos Now Official. Google Business Photos is where Google sends photographers to your business – for free – and takes pictures to be places in your photos and videos section of your Google Place page. Via Search Engine Roundtable.

From “Who’s Really Scanning All Those QR Codes?” Infographic Via Mashable.

Marketers optimistic about QR codes. 65% of US smartphone users have seen a QR code and marketers get the most value out of QR codes when placed on a product, in magazines, on a coupon or newspaper ad. Via eMarketer.

Measuring influence in the digital age: Impressions, likes and followers. Public Relations and Social Media measurement guru Katie Paine offers 4 tips on measuring what matters in social media. Via PRSA Public Relations Tactics.

Frito-Lay Adds 1.5 million Facebook fans in a single day. Impressive publicity stunt, but maybe they need to read Katie’s post above . Via AdWeek.

STOP for the STAT:
Facebook.com Now Accounts for Nearly 1 in 3 Online Display Ads in U.S (comScore)

Feeling insecure about your business social media involvement? Check out the social media maturity model for perspective from Vanessa DiMauro. Via Leader Networks Blog.

Marketo Social Media & SEO for B2B marketing webinar with Lee Odden of TopRank Online Marketing and Rand Fishkin of SEOmoz.

Mobile Marketing Spend to reach $56.5 billion by 2015. That’s 6 times the spend in 2010. Mobile is obviously hitting its stride this year with the proliferation of smartphones. The ATT & Verizon plus iPhone and Droid competitive spirit hasn’t hurt growth either. Via MarketingCharts.

The 7 Stages of News in a Twitter and Facebook Era. Insightful observations about social group behavior when it comes to news. Social sites like Twitter have eclipsed mainstream media when it comes to breaking news. Via GigaOM.

The Role of On-Page SEO Content: Relevance, Not Rankings. The bottom line with SEO is to make it easier for search engines to do what they do with your website. With the recent Panda update, that also means quality content and social engagement. On-page SEO is just the start, because links are still important and to inspire content and social engagement, a website’s content must be promoted and shared. Via Search Engine Watch.

What is the best social media monitoring tool? [infographic]

The 15 Most Popular Brands On Facebook. Via Business Insider.

Social media ROI: How 3 hospitals master the metrics. Via Ragan.

Social Media Measurement: Moving forward with the data and tools at hand. Via Marketing Sherpa.

How To Measure B2B Demand Generation. Via B2B Marketing Insider.

A Hint of What Google’s Social Network Might Look Like?. Via SEO by the SEA.

How to Build Marketing Content Around B2B Buying Triggers. Via MarketingProfs.

Marketers rely more heavily on SEO to increase website traffic. Via eMarketer.

Optimizing Social Media Pages for Search. Brands must ensure the content and conversations they create can be found. Via eMarketer.