I'm headed to )hopefully( sunny San Diego today for the annual Online Marketing Summit conference where I'll get to present on one of my favorite topics: Optimization. Of course, if you read Online Marketing Blog very often, you'll know my definition of optimization is a bit different that traditional SEO. My post last Thursday " Are You Optimized ?" touched on this.

Facebook in Numbers: Prior to the IPO The big news in social media and business this week is Facebook's new IPO. This infographic from statista and creative commons shares some very interesting figures about Facebook, before it goes public. Highlights include: In 2012 Facebook is expected to reach: 90% of U.S. Social Network Users & 60% of Internet Users. Assuming a valuation of $100 billion, Facebook would be work 67 to 100x's it's estimated 2011 net income.

Is your company adaptable? Is your marketing optimized? I think most online marketers get the fact that marketing and communications on the web is a fast changing place and that most companies are structured to move at a slower pace than the digital world is evolving. Take for example, the notion of Search Engine Optimization )SEO(. It's been around for about 15 years or so and in just the past few months Google has made the most significant changes ever.

Is Your Blogger Relations Using Push & Pull PR Tactics? Yesterday digital PR maven Adam Vincenzini pinged me about a post he was researching on how brands could make it easier for bloggers to talk about them. It's a great question because mentions and links from influential content sources are priceless for credibility, awareness and in particular, social SEO.

Picturesque view of Lake Minnetonka from the TopRank office Today marks my 4 month anniversary at TopRank Online Marketing and almost 5 years in the online marketing industry. It has been a goal of mine to learn as much as I possibly can from those who know the industry best. In this seemingly short amount of time I have received, and continue to receive a top notch education at an unbeatable price.

Google+ Optimization or Community Building? Initially I looked at Google+ the same as other Google social projects like Wave and Orkut. But the more I use Google+ the more I like it. Maybe it's the network effect because others are using it more too. I often find content and insights shared on G+ that I don't find elsewhere. While the addition of Google Search Plus Your World )SPYW( has made a big splash in the digital community,

The 2012 Community Manager Report Community Manager is an essential, yet still uncharted territory for many companies that are expanding their presence on the social web. What should you know about the current state of this position? 67% of Community Managers work for a brand The most popular city for Community Managers is New York 65% of Community Managers are Female Be sure to check out the rest of this report presented by Social Fresh .

Content Marketing Not Performing? Troubleshoot SEO Basics. This post is a preview of a new downloadable guide I will be offering for those who pre-order Optimiz e by March 13,2012. The full guide will have screenshots, examples and "SEO Deep Dive" advice. If you want the full guide, watch the OptimizeBook.com site or sign up there to be notified.

Making the time to execute on a social media strategy can rattle even the most experienced marketers. Unlike traditional marketing, social media marketing can present many different challenges and distractions. According to a study by eMarketer 73% of marketers say finding the time to create content as their biggest marketing challenge. I recently ran a poll of @TopRank Twitter followers to get a sense of how they spend their time online.

Online Marketing is all about information. And people. Making connections that solve marketing problems in today's environment of social and technological innovation can be challenging. Like many readers of this blog, a big part of what I do as an Internet Marketer centers around being able to consume large amounts of information or better, the right information,

The Social Job Seekers The social media job market is hot! This infographic visualizes the 2011 Social Job Seeker Survey that was conducted by Jobvite. It examines who the job seekers are and how they are utilizing social media to find jobs. Some interesting statistics you may not be aware of: 61% of all employed Americans are open to a new job or actively looking for a new one. 4 out of 10 job seekers are "Super Social" and have 150+ contacts on Facebook, Twitter,

Photo Credit: Flickr gjkooijman Lady Gaga is the definition of an influencer offline and online; her music, fashion sense, and passion for social causes have spread around the world in only a few short years. Love her, like her or hate her, you know who she is and you've probably heard more than one of her songs. When searching for a way to improve your online PR strategy or increase your social reach,

Google+ has been on the lips of every online marketing professional since early 2011. With a base that has now passed 62 million users and the integration of Google+ into Google search , it has become clear that Google+ is here to stay. As this new social platform continues to evolve it may be difficult to keep up with the latest trends, changes, and tactics for creating an optimized and influential Google+ profile for you and your business.

Being included on a popular list of credible resources like our own BIGLIST of top Marketing Blogs or one of the many other collections of useful resources posted online can feel pretty satisfying, validating the hard work many are putting in to their business blogs. Great lists get socially shared, linked, and emailed, giving those included quite a bit of valuable exposure. By association, the list publisher also gains value in terms of exposure, links,

Search, plus Your World The big news this week centers around the changes that Google has rolled out related to Google+ integration with search , which as the tech press buzzing. Google is aiming to bring users additional search functionality that is incorporated with their Google+ profiles. The official Google blog states that "you should be able to find your own stuff on the web, the people you know and things they've shared with you,

Improved communication turns one time buyers into lifelong customers. As marketers and sales professionals there is no doubt that we are focused on obtaining new customers and increasing awareness within targeted market segments. However, we must also consider the lifetime value of our existing customers and how marketing communications can contribute to that relationship.

Screenshot from Google's promo video Google Personalized Search rolled out yesterday revealing a change as significant as Universal Search in 2007. Unlike the major change that brought images, video thumbnails, news and blog posts within search results for all, the Google plus Your World changes are only visibile when logged into Google. There are many stories to be told here, from Google as a social network to the statements Google and Twitter are makin g.

Is your social media strategy sending your customers mixed signals? As a B2B organization with a focus on technology, you may believe that you are facing additional obstacles that your B2C counterparts are not. Many of you have tried to implement social media in the past without much success. However, you may still believe that B2C companies have it easier because they have a direct line to their consumers. The good news is, you do too! In fact,

This post is about Congratulations, Convergence and Content. First off, congrats to Aaron Kahlow on his great news , I'm sure UBM TechWeb will be pleased with OMS, it's an impressive event with a great following. Speaking of OMS, despite the wimpiest Minnesota Winter in years, February is a fine time to go somewhere warm and luckily, OMS and SES Search & Social Accelerator in San Diego are coming up fast Feb 6-9, 2012.

Who's Using Google+? The launch of Google+ in 2011 has put Google in the social networking boxing ring. When it comes to user statistics some of them may surprise you. This infographic by Flowtown shares some interesting information about the increasingly popular social media site. 63% of users are male Only 17% of users are considered active 61% of top 100 brands have a page on Google+ Be sure to connect with TopRank on our Google+ page .