Puppy's Picks - 08/05/08

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by Jennifer Laycock

I scan a few hundred feeds and read dozens of articles a day so you don't have to. From understanding the Google AdWords system to getting your entire team involved in social media efforts, check out a roundup of five posts I classify as "must-read" for the day.

If you're still learning the ins and outs of Google's AdWords system, you'll want to read the posts on Quality Score by the team over at PPC Hero this week. The first post focuses on quality score and minimum bids and day two follows up with a look at keyword targeted content ads and placement targeted ads. Combined, they give a strong overview of how the Google Adwords bidding and ranking systems work and can go a long way toward helping you cut costs on your paid search campaigns.

If you can't squeeze attending a conference into your schedule this year, you might try the series of online workshops being offered by Search Engine Strategies and Market Motive. I'll be teaching a 2-hour workshop with them tomorrow on Viral Marketing with information on blogging and social media as well. The cost is $395 for the interactive webinar and you can register online.

While there's something to be said for having people who focus on a specific area of your business, there's also something to be said for teamwork on the greater issues of your company. I've read quite a few books and sites that point out everyone within a small business should be "selling." It's on that same note that Amber Naslund points out everyone in your company should be involved in social media. The nice thing about Amber's spin, is she breaks it down by job type and points out the best use of social media for each job type in your business.

Biznology guest writer Josh Greenfield pens a missive on the perils of outsourcing your search engine marketing efforts to two different companies. While most small businesses tend to outsource their paid search and their organic optimization to the same company, larger firms tend to split these areas up so they can hire specialists. Josh points out some of the reasons why this may not work as well as you'd like and gives some good reasons why companies should consider looking for one firm that excels in both areas.

If you're a fan of Google Analytics, you'll be interested in the big list of Google Analytics tips put together by Ann Smarty for Search Engine Journal this week. From classifying site visitors to tracking outgoing links, Ann offers some advanced options that will help you get the most out of Google Analytics.

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