Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Infographic: The Biggest Changes To Google Search In 2013

What were some of the biggest changes to Google Search in 2013, in terms of how its search algorithms ranked and displayed information? How about an infographic rundown, as we close out the year? Produced by the folks at E2M Solutions, the infographic covers a number of important updates and other...



Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.





from Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing http://feeds.searchengineland.com/~r/searchengineland/~3/-lh2DumfFww/infographic-the-biggest-changes-to-google-search-in-2013-180909

SPONSOR MESSAGE: SMX Biggest Search Geek Contest

Are you the geek to beat? Prove your SEM chops and win a trip for two to SMX West plus your choice of an iPad Mini, Sony PlayStation 4, or an Xbox One. Just answer the most questions in the least amount of time to win. Test your marketing intelligence and see how you stack […]



Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.





from Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing http://feeds.searchengineland.com/~r/searchengineland/~3/uud0RPXqR8Y/sponsor-message-smx-biggest-search-geek-contest-3-180950

Top Search Marketing Columns of 2013

This past year saw many exciting changes in the world of search. From the birth of Enhanced Campaigns and Hummingbird to the death of the Keyword Tool and keyword referral data, search marketers of all stripes have had to make quite a few adjustments to their daily routines and long-term...



Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.





from Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing http://feeds.searchengineland.com/~r/searchengineland/~3/hsNVvlomzJc/top-search-marketing-columns-of-2013-180129

Year Of The Hummingbird: Our Top SEO Columns Of 2013

Our All Things SEO column covers a wide range of topics within the realm of organic search, and this past year saw no dearth of material for our columnists. Perhaps one of the most widely discussed issues within the SEO community in 2013 was the loss of keyword referral data, as Google moved to...



Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.





from Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing http://feeds.searchengineland.com/~r/searchengineland/~3/nO-C4O7MXBI/year-of-the-hummingbird-our-top-seo-columns-of-2013-180281

New Year’s Eve 2013 Google Logo Is Bringing In The New Year With A Disco

Today’s Google logo is celebrating New Year’s Eve disco-style. The interactive logo includes a spinning disco ball, pounding speakers and a light-up dance floor. The numbers for “2013″ dance away, while the number “4″ awaits to takes its spot with glancing eyes....



Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.





from Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing http://feeds.searchengineland.com/~r/searchengineland/~3/BcyUofl__58/new-years-eve-2013-google-logo-celebrating-the-new-year-with-a-disco-180921

The Best of 2013: The Top Posts and People on the Moz Blog

Posted by Trevor-Klein


Continuing what has become an annual tradition at Moz, on the last day of 2013 we're excited to bring you a roundup of the very best of this year's posts on the Moz Blog and YouMoz.


After asking Roger to work overtime to crunch these numbers, we've whittled the posts down to the cream of the crop, and have organized them in several different ways:



  1. The top Moz Blog posts by unique pageviews

  2. The top YouMoz Blog posts by unique pageviews

  3. The top Moz Blog posts by number of thumbs up

  4. The top Moz Blog posts by number of comments

  5. The top comments from our community by number of thumbs up

  6. The most active community members by number of comments posted


This year's data was more difficult to collect, as we migrated to our new domain in May. My eternal gratitude goes to Cyrus Shepard for helping make sure the right numbers were pulled.

Top posts by unique pageviews


One of the quintessential metrics for a piece of content is its number of unique pageviews. Reflecting our audience's thirst for advanced SEO, content marketing, and data analysis, these posts were winners from the very beginning.


Miranda Rensch

1. 10 Tools for Creating Infographics and Visualizations

February 6 - Posted by Miranda Rensch

Communicating visually is one of the most effective ways to explain complex concepts and relationships, both internally with your teammates and externally with your clients. Our very own Product Manager, Miranda Rensch, offers a list of tools you can use to create beautiful visualizations and let your visual communication skills shine!


randfish

2. A Visual Guide to Keyword Targeting and On-Page Optimization

August 6 - Posted by randfish

As the "O" in SEO has broadened in scope, the most effective elements of on-page optimization have changed. While there is arguably no "perfectly optimized page," this update to a 2009 post provides a comprehensive guide to steer you in the right direction.


DannyDover

3. The Web Developer's SEO Cheat Sheet 2.0

August 29 - Posted by DannyDover

It is my honor and privilege today to introduce the brand new version of The Web Developer's SEO Cheat Sheet. This free and downloadable cheat sheet covers all of the important SEO code and best practices that are needed by online marketers and developers.


Cyrus-Shepard

4. How to Rank: 25 Step SEO Master Blueprint

May 14 - Posted by Cyrus-Shepard

If you̢۪re like most SEOs, you spend hours each week reading the latest SEO tactics and search engine tidbits. We spend hours learning, but does 90% of it change what we actually do - that is, the basic work of ranking a web page for search? To lend a hand, let me introduce the 25 Step SEO Master Blueprint.


Cyrus-Shepard

5. Amazing Correlation Between Google +1s and Higher Search Rankings

August 20 - Posted by Cyrus-Shepard

This year's Search Ranking Factors Study showed a very strong correlation between Google +1s and higher rankings, and there's a compelling reason why. Google+ was built for SEO, and is far better optimized for search than other platforms.


CueBlocks.com

6. Holy Grail of eCommerce Conversion Optimization - 91 Point Checklist and Infographic

January 24 - Posted by CueBlocks.com

Invest in building filthy rich user experience, consistently and throughout your store. That is what stores with deeper pockets (like ASOS, Zappos, and JCPenney) do to achieve better conversion rate than your store. This article will take you away from usual Search Engine Optimization stuff to where the real money lies - Conversion Rate Optimization. What you do with the visitors you bring to your website?


Matt Peters

7. 2013 Search Engine Ranking Factors

July 9 - Posted by Matt Peters

The results are in! Come check out Moz's 2013 Ranking Factors as Matt Peters presents a preview of the results from the survey and correlation study.


randfish

8. Goodbye SEOmoz. Hello Moz!

May 29 - Posted by randfish

For the last two years, the 130+ Mozzers across product, engineering, marketing, and operations have been working to transform this company to the next stage of our evolution. Today, that incredibly demanding, intense, but ultimately rewarding process has reached its first goal. I'm excited to announce that as of today, SEOmoz is formally transitioning our brand, our products, our company name, and all of our efforts to Moz.


Cyrus-Shepard

9. The 100 Best Free SEO Tools & Resources for Every Challenge - Interactive

July 31 - Posted by Cyrus-Shepard

At Moz, we love using premium SEO Tools. Paid tools are essential when you need advanced features, increased limits, historical features, or professional support. For other tasks, a free tool does the trick. Here you'll find a collection of the 100 best completely free tools, tools with both free and paid options, and free trials.


randfish

10. When Keyword (not provided is 100 Percent of Organic Referrals, What Should Marketers Do? - Whiteboard Friday

September 24 - Posted by randfish

The rate at which Google is lumping keywords into "(not provided)" has skyrocketed in the last month, leading to a huge drop in referral data and speculation that 100% of keywords will soon be masked. In this special Whiteboard Tuesday, Rand covers what marketers can do to make up for this drastic change.


Top YouMoz posts by unique pageviews


We saw some real gems come through the YouMoz queue this year. Most of these posts were promoted to the Moz Blog shortly after they were published, as their resonance with the Moz community was readily apparent.


CueBlocks.com

1. Holy Grail of eCommerce Conversion Optimization - 91 Point Checklist and Infographic

January 24 - Posted by CueBlocks.com

Invest in building filthy rich user experience, consistently and throughout your store. That is what stores with deeper pockets (like ASOS, Zappos, and JCPenney) do to achieve better conversion rate than your store. This article will take you away from usual Search Engine Optimization stuff to where the real money lies - Conversion Rate Optimization. What you do with the visitors you bring to your website?


kevingibbons

2. 96 Quick SEO Wins - What Can You Do With an Hour?

January 31 - Posted by kevingibbons

If you want to win at SEO in 2013, you must commit to a solid long-term strategy. However, that's not to say you can't build small wins into your long-term strategy to strengthen it along the way. Here are 96 quick wins you can implement in an hour or less to see tremendous results.


Pratik.Dholakiya

3. The Ultimate Guide to Advanced Guest Blogging

January 21 - Posted by Pratik.Dholakiya

With "content marketing" being the indisputable SEO buzzword of 2012, we can expect 2013 to see an onslaught of marketers trying to build links with guest posts. The growth in this market will cause some sites to lower their guest posting standards, others to raise them, and still more to stop accepting them altogether. We're going to help you combat this by sharing how we got posts up on ProBlogger and Search Engine Journal, and by introducing you to our strategy for success with our clients.


Rhea Drysdale

4. 33 Link Building Questions Answered

April 4 - Posted by Rhea Drysdale

When it comes to link building idea generation, the sky's the limit! In today's post, Rhea Drysdale offers her tips for best practices and a philosophical approach to link building that will help bring your ideas to life.


Court Tuttle

5. Post-Penguin Anchor Text Case Study

January 15 - Posted by Court Tuttle

It's no secret that Google's Panda and Penguin updates caused a lot of panic. Although I'm pretty turned off to information about these updates, I've been really interested in the anchor text issues surrounding the Penguin update. If sites that have over-optimized anchors lost traffic due to the update, it seems to make sense that sites can move up with relatively few (or without any) anchored links. I wanted to test that idea and decided that it was time for a good, old fashioned case study.


Phil Sharp

6. 5 Lessons Learned from 100,000 Usability Studies

August 28 - Posted by Phil Sharp

As helpful as analytics can be, they simply can't give as complete a picture as usability studies. This post walks through five of the most important lessons we've learned after performing hundreds of thousands of those studies.


MatthewBarby

7. How to Build Links to Your Blog - A Case Study

June 4 - Posted by MatthewBarby

After a month or so of development, my site was finally ready and I wanted to start thinking about how to get some traffic going on the website. Whilst paid advertising and social media were a huge part of the strategy, I knew that appearing in the search engines for a wide selection of long-tail phrases was going to be instrumental to the blog's success. This is when I began developing my link building strategy and, after trialing out some very successful approaches, I've decided to now share my link building tactics with you all.


ILoveFashionRetail.com

8. How to Build a Great Online Fashion Brand - 34 Things that Really Amazing Fashion Retailers Do

May 30 - Posted by ILoveFashionRetail.com

Despite the title, we believe this article can also benefit and inspire retailers in industries outside fashion and help them find their way to success in online retail business in this new social commerce environment. The Online Fashion Retail Industry, particularly at the luxury end, seems to be doing well. Over the past few years, lot of money has been invested into fashion retail businesses. Valuations of these companies might seem inflated, but these companies are growing fast with the help of clear revenue stream and a value proposition that̢۪s beyond price advantage. But while some companies in Fashion technology are successfully raising more money and growing, there is another segment that̢۪s struggling to survive. These businesses are stalling because of their ability to adopt to the shift in the media consumption behavior of the consumer.


TannerC

9. How To Blog Successfully About Anything

January 9 - Posted by TannerC

In order to create a successful blog, you must be passionately curious about the topic you're covering. Learn how to turn even the most uninteresting blog post topics into goldmines with these tips for successful bloggers.


simonpenson

10. Semantic Web and Link Building without Links > The Future for SEO?

January 10 - Posted by simonpenson

Rand̢۪s recent WBF about co-occurrence was a real wake up call for those still transfixed with link building practices of old. While anchor text based links may still have some effect, there is little arguing the fact that the factor̢۪s importance is dwindling. In its place are things like social signals, link age, and, most importantly, a growing reliance on relevancy and how that is deciphered.


Top Moz Blog posts by number of thumbs up


While something of a controversial metric, there's nothing more satisfying for an author (or, I admit, for a publisher!) than seeing a bunch of thumbs up. These posts went far beyond satisfying, though, garnering jaw-dropping numbers of thumbs up.


Cyrus-Shepard

1. How to Rank: 25 Step SEO Master Blueprint

May 14 - Posted by Cyrus-Shepard

If you̢۪re like most SEOs, you spend hours each week reading the latest SEO tactics and search engine tidbits. We spend hours learning, but does 90% of it change what we actually do - that is, the basic work of ranking a web page for search? To lend a hand, let me introduce the 25 Step SEO Master Blueprint.


randfish

2. Goodbye SEOmoz. Hello Moz!

May 29 - Posted by randfish

For the last two years, the 130+ Mozzers across product, engineering, marketing, and operations have been working to transform this company to the next stage of our evolution. Today, that incredibly demanding, intense, but ultimately rewarding process has reached its first goal. I'm excited to announce that as of today, SEOmoz is formally transitioning our brand, our products, our company name, and all of our efforts to Moz.


DannyDover

3. The Web Developer's SEO Cheat Sheet 2.0

August 29 - Posted by DannyDover

It is my honor and privilege today to introduce the brand new version of The Web Developer's SEO Cheat Sheet. This free and downloadable cheat sheet covers all of the important SEO code and best practices that are needed by online marketers and developers.


randfish

4. A Visual Guide to Keyword Targeting and On-Page Optimization

August 6 - Posted by randfish

As the "O" in SEO has broadened in scope, the most effective elements of on-page optimization have changed. While there is arguably no "perfectly optimized page," this update to a 2009 post provides a comprehensive guide to steer you in the right direction.


Cyrus-Shepard

5. Amazing Correlation Between Google +1s and Higher Search Rankings

August 20 - Posted by Cyrus-Shepard

This year's Search Ranking Factors Study showed a very strong correlation between Google +1s and higher rankings, and there's a compelling reason why. Google+ was built for SEO, and is far better optimized for search than other platforms.


Matt Peters

6. 2013 Search Engine Ranking Factors

July 9 - Posted by Matt Peters

The results are in! Come check out Moz's 2013 Ranking Factors as Matt Peters presents a preview of the results from the survey and correlation study.


Cyrus-Shepard

7. The 100 Best Free SEO Tools & Resources for Every Challenge - Interactive

July 31 - Posted by Cyrus-Shepard

At Moz, we love using premium SEO Tools. Paid tools are essential when you need advanced features, increased limits, historical features, or professional support. For other tasks, a free tool does the trick. Here you'll find a collection of the 100 best completely free tools, tools with both free and paid options, and free trials.


NiftyMarketing

8. From Zero to a Million: 20 Lessons for Starting an Internet Marketing Agency

September 19 - Posted by NiftyMarketing

This post is a combination of stories and thoughts about what I have gone through building Nifty Marketing. My hope is that a few of you who are out there hustling will benefit from doing some of the things that I did, and most of the things that I didn't.


Court Tuttle

9. Post-Penguin Anchor Text Case Study

January 15 - Posted by Court Tuttle

It's no secret that Google's Panda and Penguin updates caused a lot of panic. Although I'm pretty turned off to information about these updates, I've been really interested in the anchor text issues surrounding the Penguin update. If sites that have over-optimized anchors lost traffic due to the update, it seems to make sense that sites can move up with relatively few (or without any) anchored links. I wanted to test that idea and decided that it was time for a good, old fashioned case study.


CueBlocks.com

10. Holy Grail of eCommerce Conversion Optimization - 91 Point Checklist and Infographic

January 24 - Posted by CueBlocks.com

Invest in building filthy rich user experience, consistently and throughout your store. That is what stores with deeper pockets (like ASOS, Zappos, and JCPenney) do to achieve better conversion rate than your store. This article will take you away from usual Search Engine Optimization stuff to where the real money lies - Conversion Rate Optimization. What you do with the visitors you bring to your website?


Top Moz Blog posts by number of comments


Some posts, whether due to truly inspired content or a touch of controversy (sometimes a little of both), generate significantly more discussion in the comments than others. Many of these have comment sections that dwarf the original post! We expected our announcement of the shift from SEOmoz to Moz would drum up some conversation, but we were interested to take a look at the rest of this list.


randfish

1. Goodbye SEOmoz. Hello Moz!

May 29 - Posted by randfish

For the last two years, the 130+ Mozzers across product, engineering, marketing, and operations have been working to transform this company to the next stage of our evolution. Today, that incredibly demanding, intense, but ultimately rewarding process has reached its first goal. I'm excited to announce that as of today, SEOmoz is formally transitioning our brand, our products, our company name, and all of our efforts to Moz.


Court Tuttle

2. Post-Penguin Anchor Text Case Study

January 15 - Posted by Court Tuttle

It's no secret that Google's Panda and Penguin updates caused a lot of panic. Although I'm pretty turned off to information about these updates, I've been really interested in the anchor text issues surrounding the Penguin update. If sites that have over-optimized anchors lost traffic due to the update, it seems to make sense that sites can move up with relatively few (or without any) anchored links. I wanted to test that idea and decided that it was time for a good, old fashioned case study.


Pratik.Dholakiya

3. The Ultimate Guide to Advanced Guest Blogging

January 21 - Posted by Pratik.Dholakiya

With “content marketing” being the indisputable SEO buzzword of 2012, we can expect 2013 to see an onslaught of marketers trying to build links with guest posts. The growth in this market will cause some sites to lower their guest posting standards, others to raise them, and still more to stop accepting them altogether. We're going to help you combat this by sharing how we got posts up on ProBlogger and Search Engine Journal, and by introducing you to our strategy for success with our clients.


randfish

4. Why We Can't Just Be SEOs Anymore - Whiteboard Friday

May 2 - Posted by randfish

There's a movement happening in our industry where many SEOs are changing their titles and practices to "inbound marketing." Where did this shift originate, and how is it shaping our industry at large? In today's Whiteboard Friday, Rand shares his thoughts on why we can't just be SEOs anymore if we're aiming for the bigger picture.


Cyrus-Shepard

5. The 100 Best Free SEO Tools & Resources for Every Challenge - Interactive

July 31 - Posted by Cyrus-Shepard

At Moz, we love using premium SEO Tools. Paid tools are essential when you need advanced features, increased limits, historical features, or professional support. For other tasks, a free tool does the trick. Here you'll find a collection of the 100 best completely free tools, tools with both free and paid options, and free trials.


PinpointDesigns

6. Ultimate Guide to Google Penalty Removal

October 14 - Posted by PinpointDesigns

A few months back, I wrote an article on Moz all about a penalty our web agency received for unnatural links pointing to our website. At first, this was a bit of a shock to the system, but since then, we've learned so much about Google's webmaster guidelines and we've helped lots of companies get their businesses back on track and remove manual penalties associated with their websites.


NiftyMarketing

7. From Zero to a Million: 20 Lessons for Starting an Internet Marketing Agency

September 19 - Posted by NiftyMarketing

This post is a combination of stories and thoughts about what I have gone through building Nifty Marketing. My hope is that a few of you who are out there hustling will benefit from doing some of the things that I did, and most of the things that I didn't.


randfish

8. When Keyword (not provided) is 100 Percent of Organic Referrals, What Should Marketers Do? - Whiteboard Tuesday

September 24 - Posted by randfish

The rate at which Google is lumping keywords into "(not provided)" has skyrocketed in the last month, leading to a huge drop in referral data and speculation that 100% of keywords will soon be masked. In this special Whiteboard Tuesday, Rand covers what marketers can do to make up for this drastic change.


Cyrus-Shepard

9. How to Rank: 25 Step SEO Master Blueprint

May 14 - Posted by Cyrus-Shepard

If you̢۪re like most SEOs, you spend hours each week reading the latest SEO tactics and search engine tidbits. We spend hours learning, but does 90% of it change what we actually do - that is, the basic work of ranking a web page for search? To lend a hand, let me introduce the 25 Step SEO Master Blueprint.


RachaelGerson

10. Why Google Analytics Tagging Matters - Whiteboard Friday

March 15 - Posted by RachaelGerson

In today's Whiteboard Friday, Rachael Gerson sheds some light on "dark social" and explains why tagging in Google Analytics improves the accuracy of your referrals. Take credit for the work that you're doing, and tag your links!


Top comments by number of thumbs up


We're always impressed by the discussions we see in the comments below blog posts. In addition to the great many insightful points that add to what the authors say, one of our favorite parts is the support our community members show for one another. Here are the most thumbed-up comments from 2013.


Stephan_Boehringer

1. Stephan_Boehringer | September 24

When Keyword (not provided) is 100 Percent of Organic Referrals, What Should Marketers Do? - Whiteboard Tuesday


gfiorelli1

2. gfiorelli1 | July 19

Heart to Heart About Link Building - Whiteboard Friday


MarkTraphagen

3. MarkTraphagen | August 20

Amazing Correlation Between Google +1s and Higher Search Rankings


jcolman

4. jcolman | May 29

Goodbye SEOmoz. Hello Moz!


randfish

5. randfish | August 29

The Web Developer's SEO Cheat Sheet 2.0


Dr-Pete

6. Dr-Pete | April 15

The Difference Between Penguin and an Unnatural Links Penalty (and some info on Panda too)


Bill Sebald

7. Bill Sebald | July 16

9 Experts and a Summary: What Makes an Ideal SEO Employee?


KeriMorgret

8. KeriMorgret | February 7

Going Beyond Moz Metrics to Answer: "Why is this Site Outranking Me?"


evolvingSEO

9. evolvingSEO | February 12

Stop Clicking Here! 7 Superior SEO Alternatives to Generic Links


KeriMorgret

10. KeriMorgret | March 8

6 Ways to Use Fresh Links & Mentions to Improve Your Marketing Efforts - Whiteboard Friday


Most active users by number of comments


While quality certainly trumps quantity in most cases, we're continuously impressed by the ability of our community members to cover both bases. On average, the folks on this list (which intentionally omits our own staff and associates) have left a comment on every second or third post we've published, and we couldn't appreciate their contributions more.



Charles_SEO


1. Charles_SEO

mozPoints: 516 | Rank: 161





Spook SEO


2. Spook SEO

mozPoints: 259 | Rank: 350





Brahmadas


3. Brahmadas

mozPoints: 341 | Rank: 248





Dubs


4. Dubs

mozPoints: 946 | Rank: 85





steviephil


5. steviephil

mozPoints: 1,030 | Rank: 77





paints-n-design


6. paints-n-design

mozPoints: 224 | Rank: 435





danatanseo


7. danatanseo

mozPoints: 3,298 | Rank: 10





manishbhalla


8. manishbhalla

mozPoints: 230 | Rank: 422





skifr


9. skifr

mozPoints: 234 | Rank: 407





Matt-Antonino


10. Matt-Antonino

mozPoints: 1,681 | Rank: 36






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from Moz Blog http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MozBlog/~3/dRfKcCRiK3I/the-best-of-2013