February 2016 Inbound Marketing Roundup

under Digital Marketing, Inbound Ideas.

reading guysHere's our first roundup of 2016 specific content. So far this year, the fate of Twitter has been a topic of serious discussion in the social media world, content marketing looks poised for even more growth, and SEO is set to change yet again. Big surprise :) In the articles below, we'll help get you ready for the year ahead as well as catch up with the most recent relevant news. Feel free to click on a link below to be taken to a specific section. 


Content Marketing

Social Media




Online Advertising



14 Most Important SEO Tasks in Order of Priority

Between local considerations, seeding the right content in the right places, and various other on-page and off-page factors, it's tough to know where to begin even when it comes to basic SEO essentials.

The Risks of Hiring a Bad SEO Company

Today we are not going to explore malware or any other overtly malicious traffic. Instead this post is a warning about dishonest marketing tactics used by services claiming to improve your website traffic or Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

SEO For Sale?! Exposing Google Loopholes In Light Of FTC Native Guidelines

Native content is all the rage, with many online publications launching advertorial programs to capitalize financially.  "Native" means paid content, from social posts and ads to full-on articles, which exist between, and blended in, with editorial content.

Why You Won't Recognize SEO in Five Years

As marketers, we've gotten quite good at evolving our playbooks when it comes to SEO. But the changes we've seen to this point are nothing compared to what's coming next.

Google Is Afraid of Facebook's Search Ambitions


Content Marketing

15 Actionable Content Marketing Tips to Drive More Traffic

There are few things we like more here at Siege Media than picking up something new--something new that drives us to improve our process, do things more efficiently for our clients and generate more results.

The All-in-One Content Marketing Playbook for Startups

You've heard it a million times: you have to "do" more content marketing. So you do it. Or try to. You write blog posts, you post all over social media, and you try to engage your audience anywhere and everywhere you can find them.

2016 Content Marketing Toolkit: 23 Checklists, Templates, and Guides


How 7 Departments That Aren't Marketing Can Use Content

While content marketing may be the trend du jour, content isn't just for marketing. Content is everywhere: It's the article that helps sales secure a coveted meeting, the memo from HR that announces a new acquisition, the personalized deck from account managers that keeps clients up to speed.

Social Media

Who Controls Your Facebook Feed

Every time you open Facebook, one of the world's most influential, controversial, and misunderstood algorithms springs into action. It scans and collects everything posted in the past week by each of your friends, everyone you follow, each group you belong to, and every Facebook page you've liked.

Social Media Is No Longer A Marketing Channel, It's A Customer Experience Channel

As we move into 2016, the business world is finally beginning to realize what the "social" in social media means--and can do--for every organization.

How Facebook Squashed Twitter

The idea of a "smartphone" that could connect to the Internet and run applications was around long before 2007; Apple, though, was the first to put the entire package together, including the device, user interface, and interaction paradigm, which is why the first iPhone is considered the start date of the mobile revolution.

The Psychology of How and Why We Share

To be clear, hamsters eating tiny burritos are a relevant part of this story. :-) You scroll through your Facebook feed, skimming post after post, ignoring most, liking a few. After a couple of swipes on the trackpad, you stop.

Here's How Twitter's New Algorithmic Timeline is Going to Work



The Ultimate Guide for Using Heat Maps to Increase Conversions

What makes website visitors almost convert? What makes them browse a product page and then abandon the shopping cart at the last second? What aspects of a landing page light up customers, and what slows them down? Imagine if you had a friend who knew the answers to these questions.

How Live Chat on Your Website Can Maximize Conversions

Live chat is the ultimate sales hack. It's a big call, but I stand by it. The reason is simple. It's the easiest way to bump your website conversions in real-time without split testing.

Seven Conversion Rate Optimization Trends to Take Advantage of in 2016

Is 2016 finally going to be the year of conversion rate optimisation? What will be the latest new trends shaping the success of CRO? What new tools or services will appear? Will CRO start to approach the popularity of web analytics or SEO?


How Even SEO Noobs Can Steal (Copy) Backlinks from Top Competitors

It's no secret that links are the most important piece of the SEO puzzle. Some people, like myself, will openly admit it. Yes, links matter. They matter a lot, actually.

We Analyzed 1 Million Google Search Results. Here's What We Learned

We recently analyzed 1 million Google search results to answer the question: Which factors correlate with first page search engine rankings? We looked at content. We looked at backlinks. We even looked at site speed.

5 Link-Building Techniques You've Been Neglecting

Link building isn't black and white, is it? There are so many methods you could be using, but it feels like each one has been... well, overused. Frustrating, isn't it?

Targeted Link Building in 2016 - Whiteboard Friday



An Advanced Guide to Building an Email List

For most business operating online, email is a powerful channel for nurturing leads through the sales funnel to eventually convert them into customers. A recent study from MarketingSherpa showed that ecommerce businesses had an average conversion rate from email of between 7% and 22%.

Cold Emails Are Killing Deliverability. Earn Permission Instead!

Cold emails are a necessary evil to many B2B technology businesses. You don't particularly want to send them - you don't really want any cold anything - but you have to reach out to new prospects, and unsolicited emails let you get a foot in the door.

The Triumph of Email

Email, ughhhh. There is too much of it, and the wrong kind of it, from the wrong people. When people aren't hating their inboxes out loud, they are quietly emailing to say that they're sorry for replying so late, and for all the typos, and for missing your earlier note, and for forgetting to turn off auto-reply, and for sending this from their mobile device, and for writing too long, and for bothering you at all.

Online Advertising

Google's Mobile Challenge

Google's master plan has always been clear: Get more people using the Internet, and sell more ads alongside their searches. As I've written, that adds up to $6.30 per Internet user per year.

The Big Agenda: What Lies Ahead for Marketing in an Increasingly Ad-Free Future

Unilever spends $7.7 billion on global advertising, and $15 million protecting that investment. That's how much the consumer packaged goods giant has committed so far to its Foundry program, which has vetted 4,000 marketing-tech startups and done pilots with 80 to date.

The Creator of JavaScript Wants to Upend the Ad Industry

Brendan Eich reinvented the web. Now he wants to upend the advertising industry. Eich created JavaScript, the world's most widely used programming language.

This month we'll leave you with The Simpsons getting the Making a Murderer treatment.