Five Thumbs

  • Google Analytics' New Features:
    There are some fantastic features in GA's latest release including customized alerts, threshold goals (i.e. for time on site and pages per visit), advanced table filtering, mobile traffic reporting, more robust user defined variables, and unique visitor segmentation, just to name a few.
  • Why SEO Matters:
    Derek Powazek's blog posts aside, About Online Matters' thoughtful reflection provides some great reminders about the value and importance SEO.
  • Business Week Best Under 25:
    If you're inspired when you see those 13 year old figure skaters win Olympic gold, Business Week's list of top 25 young entrepreneurs will have you looping and lutzing in no time.

Four Thumbs

  • Wolfram Alpha Launches $50 iPhone App:
    In a month where a search engine launches a $50 iPhone app and Adobe rolls out a free Photoshop app, doubts could be raised. But to the best of our knowledge, the world is still round and pigs are still unable to fly.
  • Germany' Best SEO Resources 
    We love that Germans love SEO here at SEOmoz. If you're a German SEO, or you spreken a little Deutsch, you can cast your votes for Germany's best on SEO United's site. (Note: If you do not speak German, referring traffic source is a great way to pick your vote for "Best SEO Blog.")

Three Thumbs

  • People Are Less Happy on Mondays:
    Facebook status updates confirm the brilliance of Bill Lumbergh; We're all prone to catching cases of the Monday's... mmm-kay, great.
  • Google Patents Trust Rank:
    Bill Slawski talks about how the trust rank in Google's recent patent is different from the trust rank described in Yahoo's 2004 paper and he shares some possible reasons for the patent. In related news, the Google Webmaster Tools patent on crawl rate filed by Vanessa Fox and several others in 2006 was also accepted this month.
  • Using Google Analytics  to Find Links to Your Non-www:
    Luna Metrics has a wealth of useful blog posts on web analytics. And though limited to link data on your own site, Jim Gianoglio's method for finding links to your non-www URLs is a creative, SEO-related use of Google Analytics.
  • Back in the eCommerce Day:
    Get Elastic's Linda Bustos share's a wayback machine style look at 9 old school eCommerce website designs.
  • Surprising Web Analytics Usage Data:
    The Google commissioned Forrester study uncovers some statistics you might not have guess about enterprise usage of free analytics tools, as well as how ineffectively most people use their web analytics tools.

Two Thumbs

  • 20 Conversion Rate Optimization Resources:
    Wordstream's compilation of conversion rate optimization focused blogs, books, and podcasts is worth a look through. It has several resources you might be familiar with, as well as a handful that are probably new.
  • First Link Checker Tool:
    Based on the idea that Google only considers anchor text for the first link on a page to be relevant, BusinessOnLine launched an early version of a tool that identifies multiple links on a page with the same destination.
  • 10 Worst Money Making Business Ideas:
    Neil Patel's list of bad business ideas is both humorous and reprehensible. So yes, his Homer Simpson graphic is more than appropriate for the post.

Rocking on YOUmoz

Highlighted by two great posts from Casey Henry, each of which were promoted to the SEOmoz Blog, there have been a bevy of bookmark-worthy reads this October on YOUmoz.


Top YOUmoz entries:

  1. *What Makes a Linkworthy Blog Post by chenry 

  2. *Track Your Mozpoints by chenry

  3. Google Universal Results in Brazil by Fabio Ricotta

  4. Using WordPress Automated Keyword Insertion for the Long Tail by MOGmartin

  5. An Attempt to Understand Local Ranking Factors by riseandshineseo

  6. White-Hat Linkbuilding by deckers

  7. Planning Your Internal Linking Structure by zoicaremus

  8. Domain Authority: Is it a ranking factor? by BenRush

  9. True or False: Organic Traffic Converts Better than PPC Traffic? by drummerboy9000

  10. Determining Keyword Value by eslobrown

* Indicates blog post was promoted to the SEOmoz Blog

 

Thumbs Down