Does strong Search performance correlate to Retail Success?

The answer’s “Yes” according to a new report compiled by social intelligence company Brandwatch and enterprise SEO platform provider Pi Datametrics.

Researching over 30 top UK retailers, the companies found that the most successful retailers are those who consider organic performance as a key KPI. Top retailers, the report notes, have strategies focused on customer intent and search data, and they make decisions based on measurable insight.

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Here’s Why Your Keyword Search Estimates are all Wrong

As anyone who’s tried to estimate keyword search volume knows, forecast numbers are seldom accurate, no matter which tool you use.

Most people think the Google Keyword Planner is the only accurate source of keyword data, yet third party tools that use that data give wildly varying estimates.

In smaller markets like ours, Google’s estimates often look quite flakey. At issue is Google’s propensity to use averages, to bucket data, and to ignore keywords which don’t meet a consideration threshold.

AhRef’s Tim Soulo enthusiastically delves into what’s a painful topic for search marketers, with some insights that will interest those of us handling paid search as well as those working on SEO.

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Now You Need to Worry About Social SEO

Nearly half of Facebooks users use the platform  as a search engine to find local businesses. The launch of Facebook Local in the US this month has highlighted the need to have a well optimised presence there as well.

Here are five reasons from Marketo’s Michael Quoc that Facebook will affect Local SEO

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How Facebook grew into the biggest surveillance enterprise in the history of mankind

Award-winning writer John Lanchester investigates how Facebook grew into the biggest surveillance enterprise in the history of mankind. An interesting and somewhat disturbing read…

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What we’ve been reading this week…

• How algorithms are pushing the tech giants into the danger zone
• How Effective Are Emojis in Subject Lines
• Why Businesses Should Embrace AI