Final Lap: Good Web Marketing Reads for the Week Ending Oct. 18

I came across the coolest infographic of all time while surfing the web this week. It has nothing to do with the world of web marketing, but everything to do with the world of sci-fi. Titled “All Sci-Fi Spaceships Known to Man,” it features almost every sci-fi spaceship. It is missing some early sci-fi crafts, due to images of them not being readily available, but it’s pretty awesome nonetheless.

The mother ship of all spacecrafts has to be the Serenity from Firefly. It’s a smuggler’s ship with all kinds of places to hide (great for alter-egos like myself), and it even looks like a firefly. Deb’s favorite is the Battlestar Galactica. Why you ask? If you’ve never seen a huge ship jump into a planet’s atmosphere, you’re in for a treat. Which sci-fi spaceship is your favorite?

It’s a little small here, but you can view the original image to see all of the spaceships up close.

The rest of the pit crew has been doing some serious reading and web surfing this week and found these great articles to share with you:

• Google’s Hummingbird update explained – what should it mean for your SEO? by Link-Assistant.com
  Good takeaways for how Hummingbird effects on-page optimization.
• After ‘(Not Provided)’ & Hummingbird, Where is Google Taking Us Next? by Doc Sheldon
  An interesting take on where Google might be headed with the recent algo and analytics changes.
• SEO Reporting: It’s Time We Get Away From Minutia & Focus On What Matters by Janet Miller
  What matters? ROI! Great roundup of recent events that changed what’s important to SEO.
• Funny Ads: Weird, Wacky Ads and Why They Work by Megan Marrs
  An ad isn’t effective unless it does more than get a laugh. Would you buy these products? If not, then enjoy the entertainment.
• Did Hummingbird Eat Link Building, by Nate Dame
  We’ll give you this excerpt from Dame’s post, “Directly, it changes little. Indirectly, it changes everything.” What does that mean? Check out this post to find out!
• The Truly Monumental Guide to Building Online Communities, by Mack Web Solutions
  This guide is a longer read, but we guarantee it’s worth every minute you spend reading it! With five chapters and almost 150 pages, you’ll learn how to navigate the vast online highway and connect with your audience as well as other industry influencers. Don’t have time to read it all? We think you’ll want to reconsider getting a taste. The chapters are as follows:
  • Chapter 1: The Basics of Community Building
  • Chapter 2: The Essential Community Building Tools
  • Chapter 3: The Actual “How to Build an Online Community” Process
  • Chapter 4: Adaptations for Individuals, In-Houses, & Agencies
  • Chapter 5: The End (a.k.a. Final Words of Wisdom)

  Did we mention it’s free to download as a PDF?

• The Value of Online Reviews and How to Get Them, by Laura Phillips Getting reviews for your business? If you’re a brick-and-mortar and you haven’t developed a strategy for gaining feedback from your users/clients/customers, we recommend you establish one, now. Phillips explains the importance of having a strategy, and shares information from an interesting case study on Kia’s online review efforts.
• Four AdWords Paid & Organic Report Questions Answered by Harris Neifield
  Learn the answers to some top questions circulating about this new report that can help you maximize your search marketing presence.
• Eating My (Key)Words: Changing The Way We Think About SEO via Jenny Halasz
  Nice take on how SEO is evolving away from keyword data. It helps us understand why keyword rankings don’t matter, but keyword content does.
• Does Content Marketing Work? Here Are My Results via Keith Knowles
  A nice little personal case study about the power of content marketing.
• My Best Kept SEO Secret on How to Rank for Competitive Keywords via Jason Acidre
  Jason demonstrates how he ranked fro highly competitive terms by putting together great content!
• How Content Strategy and Content Marketing Are Separate But Connected by Robert Rose
  Behind every good content marketing initiative is a good content strategy—or at least there should be. Robert explains why content should be a company’s strongest asset.
• New Mobile Assisted Shopper Study on Showrooming & How Mobile Can Work For Brick and Mortar Retailers by Lee Odden
  As more customers are wielding cell phones while they’re walking the aisles, some retailers are beginning to panic. We have it on good authority that Kathy made a purchase online while standing and looking at the product in Target this past weekend. She defines herself as what they call “Savvys” in the study. Find out how this can impact your business and what to do about it.