As summer officially approaches we take a look at what’s hot this week in digital marketing and what’s especially relevant to B2B. Google will make ranking changes to its mobile versions of Google Search, so Dan Pacifico advises we keep investing in mobile-ready websites and mobile SEO. Big Data analytics can improve B2B leads through a social scoring process, which Leanne Terpak thinks can also help us better understand and target audiences and lead to faster, better marketing decisions. Andy DeBrunner gives us the line on Line, the world’s fastest-growing social network – one that seems poised for a major presence in Asia with implications for B2B. Relevant content presented quickly and easily tops the list of essentials of a great web site, says Jenn Vitello, who offers more insights in her content blog. Speaking of essentials, Andy Hunt adds perspective for all who are implementing marketing automation systems or actively using them now: don’t be afraid to make hard choices between what’s really necessary and what’s just an option. Read on. And find us again right here next week. 

This week we discover the source of missing mobile data from Google Analytics, uncover a dozen ways to make social media data more actionable and welcome YouTube’s new “One Channel” design. We have tips on how B2B marketers can curate content – as we do here – as part of an effective lead nurturing program. And noteworthy in many markets: AT&T and the iPhone will step in with Push-To-Talk services as Sprint shuts down the previous PTT darling, the Nextel network. Read on for details, and post a comment to let us know what you’d like to see more of or less of in the weeks ahead.

Penguin 2.0, a.k.a. “Penguin 4,” is the latest Google search algorithm update we now must consider. It appears that a keen focus on content, a hallmark of best B2B practice, rather than heavy reliance on external links satisfies this bird. Web analytics and the massive amount of data it can produce can be overwhelming. A savvy B2B marketer gets focused and avoids the irrelevant – below are some remarkable analytics guides to help. Vine, which we blogged about last week, is now available for Android devices, dramatically expanding its potential user base; keep considering the B2B possibilities of very short-form video integrated with Twitter and let us know what you think. Jenn Vitello notices that even B2B publishers, the kings of content, are optimizing for mobile. Maybe you should, too? Rounding things up this week, our director of marketing technology considers what makes a site highly interactive, engaging and easy to share – often qualities we want in B2B digital experience. 

This week we highlight the “conversational search” capability unveiled by Google as Dan Pacifico starts to ponder the changes ahead for B2B marketers with natural language processing applied to search. We knew mobile was claiming more traffic:  how about more than one-fifth of all content visits? Other stats from Uberflip document the rise of shareable content and the importance of video. Speaking of video, Andy DeBrunner looks at the B2B potential of Vine, Twitter’s 6-second video service -- talk about tightly crafting your message! Helping us simplify things this week is a primer on the four keys to success in marketing analytics. We wrap things up with a reminder that users – often accessing mobile devices in the field, or in less than ideal settings – deserve our consideration as we design and deliver the content they need. Enjoy.

Welcome, or welcome back as the case may be, to The B2B Weekly Roundup, where we offer our take on some of the key developments affecting B2B marketing in bite-size form. Google’s I/O conference gave us all a glimpse into the firm’s integration plans; Godfrey’s Andy Hunt assesses the impact on B2B.  Separately, we note the opportunity to highlight your company’s deep expertise via web content for improved search results. Leanne Terpak poses a few key questions for marketers on the use of Big Data and suggests the most important thing is to turn insights gleaned into useful actions.  We share the inspiring story of a 17-year-old girl who won a Twitter hackathon as an example of the creativity that awaits B2B marketers in the social media space.  And finally, in case you missed BtoB Magazine’s Media Power 50 report, it’s worth a look; after The Wall Street Journal and WSJ.com, Google and LinkedIn occupy the #2 and #3 positions in the B2B media landscape.  No further comment on that one here, for now.  Enjoy and let us know how we’re doing.

As a B2B marketing pro, you have a lot to keep up with. We’re right there with you. Now we’re right here with you, too, offering our take on some of the week’s most interesting news and powerful insights in the world of business-to-business marketing and communications. As we work out the schedule and topics I hope you’ll leave comments to let us know how to improve. Out of the gate, we’re committed to covering Search, Analytics, Social Media and Content Marketing and providing an anchor Digital Trend Watch. We know you’re busy. We hope this helps by giving you a quick handle on the relevant trends. Your feedback will help us do that better. Thanks, and welcome.

There are plenty of statistics and information available on the growing trend of smartphone use. But some of the more recent moves from Google in the mobile space put a greater emphasis on its importance, particularly in the Search and SEO world. Here are five Google announcements worth noting.

We must optimize PR efforts for search using tools and keywords that empathize with all audiences. Let's talk about SEO using a tried-and-true PR acronym, RACE. Fortunately, optimizing PR for search is a RACE you can win. Find out how.

The world is stuck on the newest social media network, Pinterest. Here, I outline some starting points to explore the network and see if it’s a good fit for your B2B marketing efforts.

Google Analytics has long been a great free tool that has helped B2B marketers review, analyze, interpret and make website improvements. Find out how a recent Google privacy policy change is affecting keyword reports and how you should continue to manage your organic search program.

You need a business website with a content management system (CMS). Where do you start?

Web page speed and performance is very important when it comes to user experience and search results, and should be part of your search engine optimization strategy.

Very relevant Friday evening title right? But have you tried searching for a local pizza shop lately? This is relevant to your B2B business, I promise.

It’s easy to think of metadata as some deeply encrypted line of code, tucked away in obscurity. But the truth is, a meta description may viewed more than any other copy on its corresponding page.

Help visitors find and understand your content with semantic tagging. With just a little bit of extra effort and added support from all the major search engines you have another tool to make sure your content is getting out in front of your audience.

B2B marketers know how important it is to optimize their websites for search. However, what they often fail to realize is that their search strategy must be expanded beyond their websites to be an integral part of all aspects of their comprehensive marketing strategy, including videos that are uploaded to YouTube.

It used to be good enough to say, “We know who our customers are.” But now, it is important to challenge assumptions and make the effort to find out more about your customers. Technology has changed the game completely.

Our marketing colleagues in B2B SEO use an interesting term, “link bait.” It’s usually described as something that makes people want to link to your site, thereby increasing your search-engine ranking.

I have a problem with that.

You may be wondering how to integrate infographics with your B2B brand. Recently I stumbled upon an excellent example of a statistical infographic that is a perfect representation of what to do and what not to do all at the same time when creating a viral B2B campaign.

Does a social media program result in better search rankings? It's why many B2B marketers are allocating more resources to being social.

A Regular Roundup of Social Media Musings

This month’s collection of all things Social Media sees another UI change at Facebook, proof Google cares what you think and putting blogs in the hands of the professionals.

In the 1994 movie, Babylon 5, one of the main characters, Ambassador Londo Mollari, makes the statement, "Only an idiot would fight a war on two fronts." (Blogger's note: I have never actually seen the movie.) This same notion - fighting a battle on multiple fronts - has also be attributed to the fall of the Germans in WW2, to the failure of the U.S. government of eliminating insurgents in rural Afghanistan, and - for the purposes of this post - to the ruination of many a reputation in the business community. If I may...

Online marketing continues to increase in popularity and % of marketing budgets spent. In this post, I will look at Online Lead Generation, which is essentially tracking the more than 97% of visitors who come to a site and leave without identifying themselves – the ones that got away… for now.

B-to-B marketers are looking for the most efficient ways to use dwindling marketing dollars. As the economic situation worsens and marketing budget cuts continue, the tactics to survive are the ones that are highly measurable.