July’s SEO Newsletter: So Fresh That “New” is Right in the Name

Summer has hit the country like an air conditioner falling from a third story window. So why not take a long, refreshing sip of industry news and analysis to help cool you down? Spare yourself the sweat of trying to keep up on the past month’s search and social happenings, events and advances — we’ve done the heavy lifting for you. Here’s the news that will be hitting inboxes and the Web tomorrow.

Lessons Learned from Our Internet Marketing Contest

Everyone likes free stuff. In fact, people will do a lot for a prize. Though sometimes, a lot has to be done to give away prizes, too. That’s what we found over the last few months during our Small Biz Discovery Contest.

In May we began accepting entries to the contest that we hoped would provide increased visibility, positive sentiment, and quality content for our brand, and contests can be an excellent form of link building. While the contest format and expectations were an improvement upon contests we had run in the past, we’ve recognized in hindsight that there is still room for growth. If you’ve ever considered planning a contest now or in the future, this contest confession may help you avoid our missteps and learn something, too.

SEO Factors & Trends 2010 – July Update

In January 2010, Bruce Clay Australia released its annual SEO report including key 2009 ranking factors and major trends for 2010. Six months later, the search engine landscape has evolved dramatically, confirming these trends and introducing new dimensions to them.

The key factors with increased importance in 2010 are speed of site, mobile search, online brand presence, social media optimisation, personalised search, linking, richer search listings, spidering and new developments like Google’s infrastructure update, Caffeine, and the Mayday algorithm update.

Hot Topics

Hands down, this month’s recognition goes to major hottie, the Old Spice guy, and the brand’s steamy social media campaign. It’s been a while since a marketing campaign has brought the Internet to a standstill, captivated an audience so intently, gone viral so quickly, and leveraged engagement quite so nimbly.

Over the course of two days, Old Spice, the makers of men’s personal care products, elevated an award-winning ad campaign featuring actor Isaiah Mustafa to an engaging new level. The Old Spice marketing team created a series of YouTube videos responding in close-to-real time to questions and comments submitted through various social media channels. Responses to celebrities helped the campaign get early attention, but the campaign really shined through witty and humorous interactions with regular users and fans.

Check in to the SEO Newsletter tomorrow afternoon for the freshest mix of July’s search headlines. And drink up and enjoy the smooth, energizing smugness that comes from knowing it all.

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About the Author

Virginia Nussey - Producer/Media Journalist - Virginia likes to take day trips, play Rock Band and dote on her tortoise, Hiccups. You can follow her on Twitter!