5 For Friday – Links, Stories & Posts For Your Weekend

March 9th, 2012 by Search Influence Alumni

1.
Google Is Watching You (Or Not): New Privacy Policy Takes Effect Today – Search Engine Land

— Google says their new privacy policy will open the door to new products and services for the public. The idea is to simplify privacy across all of Google’s properties without affecting user’s experience. Browsing and search history controls should remain unchanged, so why are there so many articles warning “Google is watching you?”

2.
What Susan G Komen Doesn’t Understand About Communities and You Should – SEOMoz

— Global neighborhoods don’t form around organizations; they form around the major issues of the day. When an online community responds to a breaking headline, they can pop up, grow, and disappear overnight, but their impact on your business could be lasting. Online reactions to the Susan G. Komen public relations debacle offer insights into how you can leverage a network to build your brand and manage your reputation.

3.
Why Small Businesses Need BOTH Social & Search – SmallBusinessSEM

— Local search and social media are two essential ingredients for a successful online presence. Recent surveys like the Local Search Study show that the answer to the question, “should we be spending more on search or social media?” is both. The study found that 63 percent of consumers were more likely to engage with a local business if they are available on a social network. However, the study confirmed that consumers avoid social networks when they need to search.

4.
Twitter Brand Pages Adding E-Commerce, Contest Features? – Search Engine Watch

— Following in the footsteps of Facebook, Twitter will be allowing developers to create “experience” apps for business brand pages in 2012. Increased user engagement would mean more time on Brand Pages and a bigger share of advertising revenue for the social media giant. Is e-commerce the next step for the Twitter platform?

5.
Are You Using the Right Keywords On Your Site? A Simple Three-Rule Test – SearchEngineJournal

— There are plenty of quality keyword tools. However, there is also no shortage of metrics that claim to help you determine the value of a particular keyword. While some of these stats provide insight, you should not rely on them when making your selections for SEO and PPC. Here’s a quick three-rule test for making better choices when it comes to keywords.