SearchInfluence

Black Friday: 5 Apps That Make Bargain Shopping Easier — Mashable

The holidays are upon us, and many businesses local and nationwide are gearing up for the Black Friday sales frenzy. Be a savvy shopper and utilize these handy applications in order to find the best deals, compare prices, check to see where your desired item is on sale in your area and more!

How Groundbreaking Thinkers Spread Their Ideas — Inc.com

Hot on the heels of big redesigns to a whole suite of Google services, including Docs, Reader and Gmail, searchers will soon see shakeups in the way local listings are displayed on their results pages. Instead of the familiar red pin of Google Maps, searchers looking for businesses matching a given term such as breast augmentation Maryland will now be greeted with a row of grey icons which can be expanded with a click to show a highlighted popout with site preview, map and reviews:

Google Places results page when no selection is highlighted.

Results page with mini-Place page expanded.

Search Optimization and 404 Errors — SEOChat

If you’ve been on the Internet for any length of time, you’ve probably seen a colorful or visually engaging 404 page that pops up when you’ve reached an invalid page on a website. What you may not know, though, is that these pages have SEO potential and should be optimized for ease of use by your viewers. Check out this article to find out the four most important elements of a user-friendly 404 page, along with a bevy of other tips.

How to Use 3 New Facebook Features for Better Social Media Marketing — CopyBlogger

Google is feeding local business owners to the wolves with their latest Places update. Lior Ron, Google Places Product Manger, announced yesterday evening that Google will be “helping” business owners keep their business listings updated by now allowing anyone, mischievous competitors included, to edit your entire Places listing for you. Yes, even if it is verified.

How… thoughtful of Google.

The Content Strategy that Made Justin Bieber a Star — Content Marketing Institute

You may or may not be a fan of the teen star Justin Bieber and his ubiquitous haircut, but there’s no denying that some serious marketing has gone into making him one of the most famous and adored pop sensations in recent memory. Disney Media, geniuses that they are, have floated a unique campaign to make Bieber famous and skyrocket him to domination of his niche — in this case, pre-teen music. Content Marketing Institute’s Scott Aughtmon dissects the tactics Radio Disney undertook to market their star and how you can apply these concepts to your own campaigns.