Social media, and discussions of its value for PR and marketing, have become ubiquitous. But which social media tool do marketers find most valuable? What's the best tool for social media research and learning? How can you maximize the business value of tools like LinkedIn and Twitter? How can you explain the value of social media to skeptics?Find the answers to these questions and others here in more of the best articles and blog posts on social media marketing from this year so far.11 Reaso... Read Full Story

It seems like so much of what is written about search engine optimization (SEO) assumes that you're writing a blog post, or a news story, or the next great "how to" article that's going to be syndicated far and wide on article marketing sites.Sometimes that is what you're doing, but often writing for the web—and SEO—involves less glamorous pages like product or service descriptions. Of course, such pages are critical: no one will buy anything from you if they don't understand what you offer. ... Read Full Story

Given the continued high unemployment rate and uncertain prospects for economic recovery, marketing budgets will be tight heading into the new year. Most B2B marketers are likely to find themselves with fewer dollars to spend but more pressure to spend them carefully.In this environment, what are the three or four areas where marketers should focus scare resources? One area clearly is organic search engine optimization (SEO). While it isn't necessarily cheap, it's inexpensive in comparison to... Read Full Story

Despite a recent dip in users, Twitter remains a hot social media platform (and arguably a better venue for b2b marketers than Facebook). Bloggers not only use Twitter to promote their content, but writing about Twitter frequently is their content.Want to learn more about how to use Twitter for marketing, which mistakes to avoid, and learn from brand that are using the microblogging platform successfully? Check out these posts, the first of the best from this year on using Twitter for b2b mar... Read Full Story

Social media marketing is a hot topic, with 75% of marketers planning to initiate or increase social media use next year. With larger budgets and more time devoted to social media will come increased pressure to demonstrate ROI.While it's not necessarily difficult to show an ROI from social media, accurately measuring the return on investment is challenging for at least three reasons. First is the problem of "last click attribution." A recent study found a 50% CTR increase in paid search when... Read Full Story

Looking for a slick tool to easily build branded widgets? How about a social media browser that integrates social search and sharing across multiple sites? Maybe a cool application for online project management? A sophisticated yet free analytical tool for optimizing your CRM implementation? Low-cost video production? Social media analytics?Find them all and others here in the first set of the best cool web tools for 2009.Sprout BuilderIn their own words, Sprout Builder is "a visual authoring... Read Full Story

In March of last year, I highlighted Nabbit as a cool online tool for tagging songs on the radio using your cell phone. It still is, though there are now competing technologies available.But what sets Nabbit apart, and makes it interesting to both b2b and b2c marketing professionals, is the tool's ability to serve as a platform for integrated advertising campaigns.To learn more, I spoke with John Freund, CEO of Jump Technologies, Inc. (JumpTech), the creator of Nabbit and Nabbit Ads. Here's o... Read Full Story

How do you determine who your competitors really are for top search engine position? How can you get new pages indexed by Google more quickly? What key aspects of SEO should you consider when doing a site redesign? Which SEO tactics should you avoid? What can SEO professionals learn from traditional marketers?Find the answers to these questions and others here in the first set of the best blog posts and articles on search engine optimization (SEO) from 2009 (so far).Rewriting the Beginner's G... Read Full Story

I'm normally a positive, upbeat kind of guy, and as someone who's been writing professionally since the days of disco, rarely at a loss for words. Yet mention the "nofollow" tag, and that all changes. I, like many other many other web marketing professionals, am left sputtering with a mix of disgust and rage, fumbling for an adjective that conveys sufficient contempt: despicable, vile, loathsome, abhorrent, abominable, wretched, odious, detestable, downright evil.The nofollow tag was misguide... Read Full Story

How can you attract more traffic to your blog? Generate more comments? Increase the effectiveness of guest-posting opportunities? Find free and legal images to add to your blog posts? Crank out posts more quickly? Make money from your blog?Discover the answers to these questions and others here in the first set of the best posts about business blogging so far this year.27 Blogging Secrets to Power Your Community by Community and Social MediaChris Brogan shares more than two dozen tips for att... Read Full Story