Aleh Barysevich says, “Get ready for a new year of changes to Google’s algorithms—and your SEO strategy. The following five trends, distilled from a guide published on the Link-Assistant.com blog, will undoubtedly be buzzed about next year. 1. Dark Traffic It’s not news that an immense amount of traffic is flowing to websites from social media and messaging apps. But, thanks to a quirk of Google analytics, you can’t necessarily tell that’s the case. When Google Analytics can’t tell the source of a website visitor, that visit is recorded as direct traffic, even... [...]

Pamela Parker says, “Americans are getting more serious about their online holiday shopping as Black Friday approaches. According to aggregate e-commerce figures from HookLogic, which runs an ad network on retail sites like Walmart, Target, Best Buy and Macy’s, traffic to product pages was up 53 percent in the week beginning Monday, November 16, as compared to the baseline established in October. Compared with the previous week, traffic was up 15 percent. Meanwhile, the folks visiting those product pages were increasingly likely to move from browsing to buying. HookLogic says the conversion... [...]

John Fetto says, “According to our research, 99.8 percent of online Americans say that the Internet is the first place they look for information on one or more topics. As a result, our web browsers and search engines know us better than just about anyone. They know our aspirations, desires, fears, wants and needs. Given this fundamental shift in information seeking, search has become one of the post powerful, and yet untapped, sources of consumer insights. Watch this short video to explore five ways that marketers today can generate more accurate, more insightful and more actionable consumer... [...]

Patricio Robles says, “On Thanksgiving and Black Friday, while many companies were working to lure customers in with hefty discounts, one company decided to ask customers to give it money in exchange for nothing at all.  Cards Against Humanity, maker of politically incorrect playing cards, ultimately convinced nearly 12,500 people to literally gift it $71,145. Why would anybody give a company $5 or more in exchange for nothing? As Cards Against Humanity’s FAQ explained… Because the greatest Black Friday gift of all is buying nothing. We’re offering that for the rock-bottom... [...]

Sonia Simone says, “Sometimes content marketers forget that content isn’t only a game for wordsmiths. In fact, there’s a thriving community of visual content creators who have built robust businesses around what they do. And one of the most scaleable ways to do that is to craft high-quality premium WordPress themes. But there’s a lot more to it than “build something beautiful and the customers will show up.” In this post, I want to talk about what it takes to succeed as a WordPress theme designer in today’s environment“. How to Build a Lucrative Business with Premium WordPress... [...]

Craig Bradford says, “Well-researched personas can be a useful tool for marketers, but to do it correctly takes time. But what if you don’t have extra time? Using a mix of Followerwonk, Twitter, and the AIchemy language API, it’s possible to do top-level persona research very quickly. I’ve built a Python script that can help you answer two important questions about your target audience: What are the most common domains that my audience visits and spend time on? (Where should I be trying to get mentions/links/PR) What topics are they interested in or reading on those sites? (What content... [...]

Greg Sterling says, “Black Friday ain’t what it used to be. The cultural ritual (if I can call it that) appears to have lost some of its mojo, as many retailers, seeking attention and competitive advantage, make Black Friday-style deals available before Thanksgiving. There has also been a shift of some in-store shopping to online (and mobile). According to in-store analytics provider ShopperTrak, brick-and-mortar retail sales on Thanksgiving and Black Friday this year came in at roughly $12.1 billion, which is lower than in 2014. Specifically, Black Friday brought in $10.4 this year versus... [...]

Kayla Wainwright says, “Online shopping is a favorite hobby of mine, mainly due to the convenience factor. Recently, I was shopping online for a new coffee table and found myself with a dilemma. I found a website that had a great assortment of coffee tables: different sizes, shapes and every color you could think of. They had it all. After navigating through the website for a few minutes, I realized finding the right one was going to be difficult. I was having trouble sorting through the different styles and began to feel overwhelmed and frustrated. I had great tables laid out on the page... [...]

Anna Francis says, “A lot goes into creating that perfect piece of content. With so many brands now recognising the importance of producing regular, fresh, and high quality content though, it can sometimes feel like you’re simply churning out great work that gets forgotten the very next day. So what’s the solution? Instead of focusing on the quantity of content we are creating, we should shift our energy towards the quality. One amazing, creative piece of content can go a long way, and actually end up making more of an impact than ten smaller pieces of content will. Instead of racking... [...]

Jonha Revesencio says, “LinkedIn Groups are probably the most powerful aspect of LinkedIn when it comes to marketing. A recent survey found that it’s the site users’ number one favorite feature. Since it was launched in 2004, LinkedIn has become home to more than two million groups for professionals. According to this business-oriented social networking service, a profile is five times more likely to be viewed if you join and are active in groups. But what other ways can you be using Groups to impact (and benefit) your business? Here are some ideas. 1. Join Groups That Your Prospects... [...]