SEO content marketing roundup, week ending December 19th

Hello again … and goodbye … at least for 2012!

Today’s roundup is our last for this year and it continues the drumbeat of 2012 – you must have unique, high quality, and compelling content to engage your visitors and satisfy Google. The Content Marketing section gives you an abundance of resources to help deliver on this business need.

The year ends with Google and Twitter at opposing ends of the negative keyword debate and social media infiltrating the customer service function.  Who knew!?

Be safe and enjoy what I hope will be a slower pace for the next two weeks.  See you next year!

Content Marketing

Should you outsource or should you build in-house capability? Corey Eridon gives some pointers at Hubspot.

So you need to put up a website … or you need to refresh your existing website. No problem, right? Just do it. Heather Lloyd Martin gives you some food for thought at SEO Copywriting.

How following your passion can create content that propels growth. Michael Stelzner waves the flag at Social Media Examiner.

Keep saying “No!” to bad content. Sonia Simone leads the rally at Copyblogger.

Have some fun with Rachel Sprung as she takes you down memory lane to look at memorable marketing campaigns of 2012 at Hubspot.

Lee Odden busts some myths about content marketing at TopRank.

Learn what high quality content looks like from three great content sites. Zach Bulygo guides the tour at KISSmetrics.

Can your blog’s visibility be increased by using images? It depends on the image. Tara Hornor snaps some shots at Social Media Today.

Holiday shopping got your brain frozen? Try these 10 content marketing tips from Cindy King at Social Media Examiner.

You have so many marketing choices today, especially online. Which ones are worth your time? Corey Eridon tells you where to focus and what to ignore at Hubspot.

How can Quentin Tarantino help with your content marketing? Bnonn slices it up at KISSmetrics.

Do you do keyword research? Stoney deGeyter provides a guide to creating compelling and creative content at Search Engine Land.

Beth Hayden has a pain-free, three step process for keyword research at Copyblogger.

Amy Teeple takes you on another ride as she continues the theme of how cycling is like content marketing at SEO Copywriting.

Need a how-to guide for blogging? Sean Work takes you through the definitive guide at KISSmetrics.

Events:

• For affiliate marketing folks, Affiliate Summit West 2013 will be held in Las Vegas from January 13^th thru the 15^th.
• Marketing Sherpa’s Email Summit 2013 will take place in Las Vegas from February 12^th thru the 15^th.

SEO and Search

What happened last Thursday? According to Google … nothing. Barry Schwartz begs to differ at Search Engine Land.

For those who are interested in alternative search engines, Blekko released a suite of new SEO tools. Chris Crum details them at WebProNews.

Don’t be so negative! Todd Wasserman introduces Twitter’s negative keyword targeting feature at Mashable.

At the same time, Google remains very resistant to negative SEO. Chris Crum tells why at WebProNews.

What gets to the bottom of the funnel? Sales! Matt Gratt shows how to drive sales by optimizing bottom of the funnel keywords at KISSmetrics.

What’s hot and what’s not for 2013? Nathan Safran gives you the rundown at Search Engine Land.

Can B2B marketers find success using Facebook? Ben Pickering tells them how at Social Media Examiner.

Google’s effort to make image search G-rated makes Google search worse. Josh Wolford lays it bare at WebProNews.

Get the basics of social media taxonomy from Jesse Bardo at Social Media Today.

For those who just can’t get enough … more SEO and social media lessons from the November election from Jayson DeMers at Search Engine Journal.

Are you a white hat SEO? Eric Enge has a test for you at Search Engine Watch.

Events:

• Learn How to Succeed in Online Marketing at SES New York held March 25^th-28^th, 2013 in, where else? New York!
• Immerse yourself in game-changing SEO and paid search tactics at SMX West 2013 March 11^th – 13^th, 2013 in San Jose, CA.

Social Media Marketing

Don’t be scared … think different about security and risk when using social media. Scott Doniger calms your fears at Social Media Today.

Bing gets social on the iPad. Matt McGee takes you aside at Search Engine Land.

Chris Horton thinks win-win-win about Google+ Communities at Social Media Today.

Wally Xie shares the 4 habits of successful people using social media for customer service at Social Media Today.

Can your sales team use Twitter to connect with more prospects? Juliette Kopecky sings like a canary at HubSpot.

Using social media to prospect for your business? Beware … Jonathan Catley shares an example of how this can go terribly wrong at Social Media Today.

AJ Kumar shows how to split test your Twitter marketing at Social Media Examiner.

What’s with all the hash(tags)? Don’t know the difference between breakfast potatoes and a Twitter hashtag? Pam Moore gives you a Twitter Hashtag tutorial at Social Media Today.

Lee Odden continues with his myth-busting theme. This time about social media marketing at TopRank.

How blind are B2B execs to social media marketing? Lenna Garibian says they are really blind at MarketingProfs.

Events:

• The BusinessNext conference (part of BlogWorld & New Media Expo) takes place January 6^th – 8^th, 2013 in Las Vegas.
• Social Media Examiner’s Social Media Marketing World is scheduled for April 7^th thru the 9^th in San Diego.