Baer says, “With every passing year, SEO moves further away from the realm of clear and simple guidelines to the world of blurry indicators and stringent punishments for perceived transgressions. Once upon a time, SEO was synonymous with zeroing in on the right keywords and going crazy with a million iterations and use cases for these keywords all over your site. If you stuffed your site, its meta data, and HTML tags with enough keywords, it was enough to win the battle against Google. It was simple to do and easy to understand, albeit not the most ethical of practices. Today, that A = B... [...]

Rainmaker team says, “In this episode of Rough Draft, host Demian Farnworth wants to put some teeth to the things he has been teaching. Some substance behind my claims. He’ll present four research studies you should know about. They’ll help you understand the true state of what it means to write online. But Demian needs to warn you: what you are about to learn could depress you. Could make you throw in the towel. But don’t fear. He’s here to help you get over that hump”. The Ugly Truth About How People Read Online ‘Copyblogger’ Blog  [...]

Baer says, “Scott Stratten’s viral, social, and authentic marketing agency, UnMarketing, keeps him pretty busy. So do his books, like UnMarketing and UnSelling, his UnPodcast, and being one of Forbes’ top social media power influencers. He’s known for his sarcastic tone as he points out brand fails on Twitter. When asked why he goes negative, Scott says this strategy is twofold: It matches his personality, so it’s genuine. UnMarketing came about 13 years ago because Scott was angry that the only way to market to someone was to interrupt them. Tweeting with a sarcastic edge just... [...]

Mike King says, “Simply put, if you’re not measuring, you’re not marketing. In fact, if you’re whipping up blog posts and infographics without business objectives, you’re basically partaking in a very expensive version of arts and crafts. Your job as a content marketer is to show your boss the money — not traffic, not links — mon-naay. Let’s talk about how to get started effectively measuring your content marketing efforts”. A Quick-Start Guide to Measuring Your Content Marketing Efforts ‘Copyblogger’ Blog  [...]

Amy Gesenhues says, “While marketing teams continue to create more and more content marketing materials, anew study from marketing software provider Acrolinx claims brands are not spending nearly enough time on the quality of their content marketing efforts. Using linguistic analytics software to evaluate grammar and style, Acrolinx leveraged a 100-point scale to score marketing, corporate, technical and customer support content from companies with $250 million or more in annual revenue”. Is Poor Grammar Killing Your Content Marketing? Study Says 69% Of Brands Fail to Make The Grade Marketing... [...]

Julia Mccoy says, “Analyzing the impact of your content doesn’t need to be a costly endeavor. These nine analytic tools are free (or almost free). Identifying which ones help inform your content marketing goals, using them regularly, and adjusting your content so your results are aligned even better with your objectives will boost the effectiveness of your content marketing efforts. 1. Google Analytics The first, most important, and the ultimate tool that every website manager and marketing expert needs is Google Analytics. It’s among the best ways to get vital information about the... [...]

Joe Pulizzi says, “Of all the segments of content marketers we’ve studied over the last year, technology marketers are the most focused on lead generation as a goal for content marketing. While tech marketers were the group most focused on lead generation last year as well, the percentage has increased from 86% in 2014 to 91% this year. It’s also notable that the tech marketers are shifting away a bit from brand awareness (which does not generate leads) as a primary goal, and more toward getting measurable results (using leads as one measure). Those are some of the key insights from... [...]

Graham Charlton says, “We’re great believers in the importance of evergreen content, and this has been a major factor in this blog’s growth. Here, I’ve compiled some of the evergreen formats we regularly turn to… What is evergreen content? Evergreen content is that which is still interesting and relevant weeks, months or even years after its initial publish date. It doesn’t date like news can, it can deliver value in terms of traffic, leads, social shares and can occupy valuable search positions for a prolonged period of time. The best examples are aligned with our... [...]

Shari Monnes says, “When it comes to using Facebook for business, many people wonder what the secret for success is. What kinds of posts get the best results, and how can you increase engagement? Are there things you should be doing that you’re not? While there is no one single right way of creating a perfect post, there are some best practices you can follow to help make your posts more successful. We’ve dissected the key elements of successful Facebook posts so you can properly optimize yours. But be warned, it’s not all kittens and dancing babies here. You’re going to have to... [...]

Ann Smarty says, “The blogosphere has been a major online marketing medium for years now. Bloggers are trusted voices who can bring in customers and help you build your community. They’re capable of exposing others to your message and getting the buzz started — but only if you approach the task diligently. Reaching out to potential blogger is a more intricate process nowadays than it was even five years ago. Great bloggers are constantly getting pitched by marketers, making it all the more important for you to stand out from the crowd if you want them to pay attention. Trust... [...]