One word dominated search marketing in May – “panda.” Obviously we’re not talking about the adorable, endangered animal, but rather the fourth update to the Google algorithm that laid waste to crappy sites across the web and struck terror into the hearts of webmasters the world over.
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These pandas want to rock ‘n roll all night AND party every day.
Of course, the Panda 4 update wasn’t the only thing people were talking about this month. Let’s see what else was going on and take a look at this month’s top posts.
1. Panda 4.0: Why EBay Just Lost 80% Of Its Organic Rankings– Even if you’re not familiar with the term “schadenfreude,” eBay’s recent misfortune at the hands of Google is a perfect example. Check out this post to see why Google slapped eBay so hard, courtesy of some data analysis by our own Larry Kim.
2. Gender Bias in Online Marketing: Data Shows Women Are Undervalued by 21%– Every journalist worth their salt knows that sometimes, a hunch can quickly grow into a hot story. Larry discovered this recently and decided to investigate gender bias in the paid search industry – a study that revealed some startling (and depressing) results.
3. 6 Google Analytics Tips for Business Insight Way Beyond Traffic– In this post, I outline six tools you need to start using in Google Analytics. Sure, you’re probably already using one or two of them, but what about the rest?
4. Debunking AdWords Dogma: Why You Shouldn’t Bid to Position (& Other Myths That Make No Sense)– In this post, Paid Search Strategist Tony Testaverde dispels some of PPC’s most stubbornly enduring myths with hard data – which, incidentally, is WordStream’s favorite kind of data.
5. What Is Long-Form Content and Why Does It Work?– Long-form has become something of a hot topic among content marketers, but some people still have a lot of questions about this kind of content. In this post, I explain what long-form content is, what makes it so effective, and dissect five examples of outstanding long-form content.
6. The Mega Collection of SEO Expert Advice: Best of the Reddit SEO AMAs– Although Inbound.org has become increasingly popular with SEOs seeking to pick the brains of the industry’s most respected experts, Reddit’s Expert SEO subreddit remains perennially popular. In this post, Megan rounds up some rock-solid advice from Reddit AMAs by some of the biggest names in the business.
7. Search vs. Display: Which AdWords Network Should You Use?– In this post, Customer Success Manager Erin Sagin provides you with a detailed explanation of when you should use the Google Search Network, and when the Google Display Network is the right choice.
8. 5 Cognitive Biases & How to Overcome Them on Your Landing Pages– Marketers need to understand consumer behavior better than most professionals, but getting inside your prospects’ head isn’t always so easy. In this post, I explain how to overcome (or at least account for) five of the most common cognitive biases with your landing pages.
9. Contrarian Content Marketing: How to Zig When Everyone Else Zags– Sometimes it’s fun to be deliberately contrarian, but going against the grain can also be a remarkably effective content strategy. Don’t believe me? Then read Elisa’s post about why agreeing with everyone else is stupid, lazy and ineffective. Then, as Elisa suggests, “go forth and stir the pot.”
10. 21 Expert Content Marketing Tips from the Best Inbound.org AMAs– May was a big month for AMA highlights, and we just couldn’t ignore the veritable gold mine of advice at Inbound.org. In our final post for this month’s Best Of round-up, Miranda plumbs the depths of Inbound.org’s most popular AMAs to deliver you some excellent content marketing tips from some of the industry’s best and brightest.
See you in June!
This post originated on the WordStream Blog. WordStream provides keyword tools for pay-per click (PPC) and search engine optimization (SEO) aiding in everything from keyword discovery to keyword grouping and organization.