SEO Content Marketing Roundup, Week Ending January 18th, 2012

Politics literally darken the internet in this week’s latest and greatest Web-writing news, as the SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) legislation has provoked industry backlash and a worldwide protest by site owners – including heavies like Wikipedia and Reddit – in the way of website “blackouts.” (They are occuring today, in fact, for 12 hours).  Even Google has made a statement of protest on its home page by blacking out its logo.

Meanwhile, the social media and SEO/search community continue to grapple with Google+ and Google Search Plus Your World, while content marketers focus on video and business blogging. But first, here’s…

The Scoop on the SOPA Saga

Since SOPA has all the industry buzzing up the web, you might want to check out some of these select posts explaining what it is, why it’s widely perceived as bad for internet marketers and online businesses, the politics, and more:

What exactly SOPA is and why it is dangerous are explained in great detail in an editorial opinion penned by Chris Heald of Mashable.

Alex Fitzpatrick gives the background of SOPA legislation (and that of its sister/predecessor, PIPA – the Protect IP Act) and where they stand now, also at Mashable.

Greg Finn reports that Google will join the anti-SOPA protest by linking to anti-SOPA information on its homepage at Search Engine Land.

Matt McGee describes how to black out your own website in protest of SOPA – without hurting your SEO – at Search Engine Land.

Greg Finn looks at the #blackoutSOPA social media movement (“that helped stall the SOPA legislation”) at Marketing Land.

For the latest news on SOPA, see Matt Brian’s “What SOPA means around the world – literally” at The Next Web (Shareables).

Content Marketing

The top 10 marketing trends of 2012 are shared by Jeff Bullas at his blog.

Mike Sweeney posts 12 questions that should guide your content marketing plan at Marketing Trenches.

PR Web lists 19 (press release) content marketing resolutions garnered from its top 2011 tips.

Michael Kolowich discusses how content marketers can reinvent the webinar for 2012 at Content Marketing Institute.

Lee Odden discusses building your blog traffic with curated resources and lists at Top Rank.

Rand Fishkin shares 21 tactics to increase your blog traffic (updated from 2007) at SEOmoz.

Heidi Cohen lists 31 ways to make your blog stand out.

Hobo Web talks up Ifttt, a free tool that automatically posts your blog to the big three social sharing platforms (Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook).

Pamela Vaughan discusses seven “fatal business blogging mistakes (and easy fixes)” at HubSpot.

Jeff Bullas shares 18 “key observations about the state of blogging in 2011.”

Citing comScore’s December 2011 U.S. online video rankings, TechCrunch reports that Facebook has “slipped.”

Sherice Jacob discusses product videos and conversion rates at KISSmetrics.

Jakob Nielsen discusses “thinking aloud” as the #1 usability tool – for some 19 years now – at his Alertbox site.

SEO & Search

Gabriella Sannino and the Level 343 team share their own 2012 predictions with the sharp and witty “2012 Is the End of the Beginning: SEO, Social, Search, Copywriting Et All.”

Citing comScore’s newly released data, Miranda Miller reports that Google dominates global paid search (as the 2011 holiday online shopping numbers set new records) at Search Engine Watch.

Eric Enge talks “Mobile SEO Tips and Tricks” with Cindy Krum at Stone Temple (Consulting).

Ugly baby? Lyena Solomon discusses the necessity of planning  your website redesign at Netsprinter.

David Harry discusses the hidden (glass half full) value of Google’s encrypted (“not provided”) data for SEO analytics at Search News Central.

Byrne Hobart discusses the changing landscape of SERP rankings with “Rich Snippets: Learning To Love Not Being #1” at Search Engine Land.

Mat Bennett shares seven alternatives to Google Analytics at Search Engine Journal.

Danny Sullivan breaks down the whole Google Search Plus Your World thing in a clear and comprehensive post at Marketing Land.

Lee Odden weighs in on what Google’s personalized search means for marketing with an in-depth post at Top Rank.

Eric Ward discusses linking strategies for Google Search Plus Your World at Search Engine Land.

At Search Engine Watch, Miranda Miller posts “Rank for Anything You Want on Google Search Plus Your World,” noting the ranking weight of Google+ “Circles” in search results.

In a similar vein, Danny Sullivan notes that Google is favoring itself with Google+ in its (Search Plus Your World) vertical search at Search Engine Land.

Noting the changes wrought by Panda and the rise of social signals, Eric Enge pens “The End of Link Building as We’ve Known and Loved it” at Search Engine Watch.

Neil Patel discusses seven “Panda-punishing” content mistakes at Search Engine Journal.

Kristi Hines addresses click-throughs vs. SEO with “Meta Description Magic” at KISSmetrics.

Think with Google posts an overview of HTML 5.

Social Media Marketing

“Google Search Adds Google Plus” headlines Social Media Examiner’s weekly news.

Reflecting the sentiment of many in the industry, Arnie Kuenn posts “Google’s Search Plus Your World? – Not in My World!” at Vertical Measures.

A review of Chris Brogan’s new book, Google+ for Biz: How Google’s Social Network Changes Everything, is at Top Rank.

Brafton News reports that social media and content marketing are the top priorities for 70-percent of marketers surveyed for Awareness Inc.’s report on the State of Social Media Marketing in 2012.

Mack Collier shares how much social media will cost companies in 2012 at his blog.

Gabe Donnini discusses measuring the value and success of targeted social media marketing campaigns at Marketing Land.

AllThingsD reports that Facebook’s IPO should come in late May, and that its Open Graph apps are coming this Wednesday (as in today,1/18).

TechCrunch posts some key social media trends to look for in 2012.

Haydn Shaughnessy discusses the key behaviors of top social media influencers at Forbes.

The Next Web reports that Twitter is adding 11 new accounts per second, and could surpass 500 million accounts by February.

Mashable posts an infographic of HootSuite’s new milestones: 3 million users and 700 million sent messages over three years.

Brian Solis posts “Digital Trends: Strategies for Reaching and Influencing Connected Consumers” at his blog.

So what motivates readers to share? Dan Zarrella tackles the question at Problogger.

What Stephen Hawking can teach you about social media marketing strategy is posted at Marketo.

Lisa Buyer posts a how-to on creating a social media editorial calendar at Search Engine Watch.

photo credit to cometstarmoon