SEO content marketing roundup, week ending September 12th

In this week’s latest and greatest Web-writing news, SEO and search pro’s are buzzing about Google’s weighing of reader intent in allowing for synonoms in returning search results, social media marketers discuss Facebook and LinkedIn business pages, while content marketers focus on conversions. There’s many more Web gems in the mix – enjoy this week’s picks!

Content Marketing

Chris Horton shares “5 Things to Consider Before Creating Your Online Content Marketing Strategy” at Business2Community.

Jonah Deaver posts “Proactive Elements of Content Planning and Distribution” at Vertical Measures.

Oil Gardner posts an informative and fun infographic, “10 Road Trip Stops on the Conversion Highway” at Unbounce.

Writing powerful, value-packed headlines is tough. Graeme McLaughlin shows exactly how he does it (and measures headline conversions) with “Big buckets of value – finding the headline that works” at SEO Copywriting.

Loren Baker posts “Beyond Links: Reaping the Long-Term Benefits of Content Marketing” at Search Engine Watch.

Zach Bulygo posts “How To Build A Trustworthy Website” at KISSmetrics.

Marketing Sherpa’s weekly research chart addresses “What are the most prevalent website optimization priorities?”

Peter Da Vanzo pens a smart piece on targeted marketing with “Three Ways To Break Down A Market” at SEO Book.

Sara Duane-Gladden posts “6 Lessons Marketers Can Learn from 2012 ‘Back to School’ Digital Marketing Campaigns” at Top Rank.

Jason Miller posts “5 Key Takeaways From Content Marketing World 2012” at Marketo.

Seth Godin discusses “Memory and media” at his blog.

Nathan Safran discusses “The Long-Term Greed-ification of the Web” at Search Engine Watch.

Events:

• MarketingProfs’ B2B Forum is scheduled for October 4^th & 5^th (Workshops on October 3^rd) at Westin Copley Place, Boston.
• Tim Ash’s (East Coast) Conversion Conference will be held in Ft. Lauderdale (FL) October 9^th & 10th
• The Usability Week 2012 Conference, hosted by the [Jakob] Nielsen Norman Group, will take place September 23^rd thru the 28^th in San Francisco, October 28t thru November 2^nd in New York, November 5^th thru the 9^th in Seattle, and December 2^nd thru the 7^th in Las Vegas.

SEO & Search

With Matt Cutts’ recent statement that keyphrase synonyms are considered by Google, several posts have emerged on the subject, including:

Heather Lloyd-Martin’s video “Keyphrases: why synonyms are your friends” at SEO Copywriting, referencing…

Michael Martin’s “Getting to Where Search is Going to Be, Not Where It Has Been” at Search Engine Watch, and Vanessa Fox’s predictive “Is Google’s Synonym Matching Increasing? How Searchers And Brands Can Be Both Helped and Hurt” at Search Engine Land.

Most recently, Dr. Pete (Peter J. Meyers) posed the  question: “Are Exact-Match Domains (EMDs) in Decline?” at SEOmoz.

Speaking of pronouncements from Matt Cutts, Chris Crum posts: “Google’s Matt Cutts On Why Ads Can Be More Helpful Than Organic Results” at WebProNews.

Virginia Nussey posts “Quality Rater Handbooks: Another Tool for SEO Evaluation” at Bruce Clay, Inc.

Aleh Barysevich posts an infographic depicting “An SEO’s Ultimate Post-Penguin Checklist” at Search Engine Journal.

Hannah Smith discusses “Why Content Marketing Pwns Zombies, Bacon & Cats” at distilled.

Level 343 discusses (economical) website success with “Split Testing | Improve Results Without Spending More Money.”

Eric Ward posts “Must-Have Browser Tools For Link Builders” at Search Engine Land.

Eric Covino posts “Laying the Groundwork for a Local SEO Campaign” at SEO Book.

Heather Lloyd-Martin takes it back to the basics with “The A-B-Cs of SEO copywriting” at SEO Copywriting.

Events:

• SMX (Search Marketing Expo) East is returning to New York, October 2^nd thru the 4^th.
• PubCon Las Vegas 2012 is on for October 15^th thru the 19^th at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
• SES Chicago is scheduled for November 12^th thru the 16^th.  Save $800 on an All Access Pass with the pre-agenda rate through September 14^th!

Social Media Marketing

Michael Learmonth posts “In Pursuit of Revenue, Social Networks Ramp Up Ad Targeting” at Ad Age.

Danny Sullivan posts “Live Blog: Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg On Mobile, Search & More At TechCrunch Disrupt” at Marketing Land.

Corey Eridon posts “12 Revealing Marketing Stats About Facebook for Business” at HubSpot.

Jeff Bullas shares “10 Ways Leading Brands Use Facebook Ingeniously For Their Marketing.”

David Angotti reports “Zuckerberg to Hold Facebook Stock for a Year” at Search Engine Journal.

Leslie McLellan posts “Social Media Isn’t Rocket Science; It’s Social” at Spin Sucks.

D. William Jones posts “SMB Still Reluctant to Embrace Social Media As They Should” at Social Media Today.

Ron Fusco posts “The Marketer’s Guide to YouTube, Part I: Why to Use It” at PPC Associates.

Pamela Vaughan posts “A Detailed Anatomy of the New LinkedIn Company Page Design” at HubSpot.

Rich Brooks posts “3 Ways to Create Highly Valuable Blog Content” at Social Media Examiner.

Events:

• Social Examiner and the Online Marketing Institute will be hosting the live, virtual event, Digital Marketing Strategy Summit, September 17th thru the 28^th.
• SMX Social Media Marketing 2012 will be in Las Vegas, December 5^th & 6^th

photo thanks to George Larcher