Two of the most talked about events of the young year have been hot topics online (and in the internet marketing community), with Groundhog Day on Thursday and the buildup to Super Bowl XLVI dominating search and social conversations.

On Sunday, the New England Patriots and New York Giants will play in the Super Bowl for the second time in the last four seasons. While the game is always a major topic on Google, Twitter and other social and search sites, the Boston-New York rivalry along with the Giants' defeat of the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII in 2008 has only exacerbated the hype for the game. Throughout the week, it was among the most discussed topics on Twitter and a top search, according to Google Trends, fueling businesses in the sports, entertainment, food and beverage (among other) industries with ample fodder for content marketing.

Meanwhile, Groundhog Day was a frequent talking point throughout Thursday, and it resulted in an especially interesting observation. Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, as he usually does, to guarantee Americans six more weeks of winter - at least. However, Brafton found that Americans are not particularly sharp when it comes to spelling the renowned rodent's name. "Punksatony Phil" was trending search term late Friday, despite being an incorrect spelling. Google produced content featuring Phil's first name spelled correctly in the most prominent news content result positions. However, those who posted website content with the incorrect spelling saw a remarkable surge in traffic. The boost was short-lived, though.

In general, Brafton has reported that Google considers quality to be the most important element of content it includes its search results. A spelling mistake or two isn't going to kill a company's SERP standing, but employing content writers is a must for businesses planning to implement search marketing campaigns including news articles or blog posts.

This week's headlines demonstrate that getting content for SEO right is key to reaching online audiences. On Thursday, Brafton reported that 89 percent of consumers use search engines when they conduct research for purchases. More than ever, it's important for businesses to create content that will help their website move up in SERPs.

Fleishman-Hillard found that the information users find online when they are looking to make a purchase weighs heavily into their eventual decisions. The study found digital content has more of an impact on purchases than recommendations from friends or family. For any organization selling products or offering services, creating news content involving the industry could help appeal to those turning to Google or Bing before spending their money.

For businesses looking to drive traffic to their brick-and-mortar locations as well as their websites, two new reports may demonstrate the value of web marketing for achieving both goals. Brafton noted on Monday that consumers that access a company's website spend more money at its stores. The analysis, conducted by comScore, Accenture and dunnhumbyUSA, suggests that web marketing campaigns should focus on driving web conversions, but that they can also fuel in-store sales.

Additionally,Brafton reported on Wednesday that more than half of shoppers turned to a smartphone during the holidays while in stores. Pew Internet Research said that 24 percent used the mobile web to look for information on a product or compare prices at other stores.

In light of this, it seems an SEO campaign that includes mobile/local SEO elements could help companies rank well when prospects search from stores, effectively keeping them in a shop or luring them in from a neighboring store.

While the study noted consumers search from mobile devices while shopping, they also tend to check social networks and email. Ensuring that each channel included as part of a web marketing strategy is accessible and optimized for access from smartphones is critical moving forward.

Brafton reported on Friday that more than 47 percent of mobile phone users accessed the web from their device in the fourth quarter of 2011. The figure represents a pretty substantial increase from earlier research that found 42.9 percent accessed the web from a handset in the previous three months, according to comScore. Application use also grew, which places substantial emphasis on social media marketing campaigns, as part of strategies aimed at reaching mobile users.

While social media marketing is effective to find and locate new prospects, businesses may find that the channel helps them keep up with existing customers as well. Brafton reported on Tuesday that the channel is valuable in keeping current partners or clients happy. Loyalty 360 found that 27 percent of businesses named it as their best tool for encouraging customer retention.

Essentially, consumers and businesses enjoy reaching out to organizations they buy from or work with to ask questions and discuss trends or developments even if they're already doing business. Effectively engaging existing customers will help make social a major win for a company.

The channel is also wildly successful for brands in terms of finding new prospects. Brafton reported on Thursday that 81 percent of businesses said their use of Facebook, Twitter or some other social network has boosted lead generation. The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth's Center for Marketing Research reported that 88 percent of the companies tied their use of social media marketing to improved web traffic as well.

However, Facebook could get interesting in the next few weeks, as users adjust to life with Timeline, the new default profile layout. On Tuesday, Brafton highlighted a poll of more than 4,000 Facebook users, conducted by Sophos Security. The results showed that more than half said Timeline "worries" them to the point where they may consider deleting their accounts.

Just 7.96 percent of respondents said that they like Timeline, according to Sophos. As is often the case with changes of this scope, many are threatening to leave Facebook altogether.

As we move into next week, the web conversation will likely deal with those who do opt to delete Facebook and what this means for social media marketing. Businesses should also keep an eye on users' threats to delete Google accounts in the aftermath of privacy updates. Based on past examples of user threats following major platform changes, marketers should likely maintain their Facebook and Google marketing campaigns.

We're always on the lookout for search engine optimization data and tools that can help inform content marketing plans, and the team at SEMRush was nice enough to offer us Pro-Level access to their platform. This professional-grade software for SEO and SEM research is ultimately worth your time and interest.

Here is my experience with the platform, specific to conducting SEO research.

Introduction to SEMRush

SEMRush provides its users with tools that allow them to better understand their websites' standing in regards to current target keywords (and potential key phrases), competitors' relative positions and the potential for improvement on rankings or placements with other given keywords. The platform draws on a wealth of information (which SEMRush notes is growing), citing:

• 80 million keywords listed in its database
• Rankings records from Google US, 9 non-US Google domains and Bing
• 42 million domains on record

The tool gives the user everyday SEO metrics like keyword rankings and search volumes, but also provides less common measures like the percentage of traffic gleaned from a keyword, or the number of indexed results Google has for a given term. All of its output is available for review through your browser, or it can be downloaded as an XLS or CSV file.

Analyzing a target SEO keyword

Entering a given keyword into the search field yields a wealth of information: • A top-level summary of the term for key metrics like search volume, cost per click and competition levels

• A list of other words that include the exact phrase, with the same key metrics
• Other, related keywords (which are not a match for the exact phrase)
• Which sites perform best for the word: its 20 highest SERP listings, plus a list of those sites purchasing the term and the ad text that they're providing for it

As is often the case when managing a great deal of information, I found some of data points more helpful than others. The phrase match report and the related phrases could be helpful to someone starting a strategy from scratch and looking to expound on a core phrase or idea. 

They're less important to someone who simply needs to learn more about a given term. I am undecided on how effective the data would prove – as many terms yield 500+ phrase matches and keyword ideas.

All told, I don't know of another resource that gives this degree of detail in one place, making this tool a great one-stop shop to learn all angles of a given keyword. This feature allows someone to quickly and effectively understand the potency of a term, as well as the competitive landscape for both ad buyers and top-ranking sites.

Researching competitors' search engine optimization standings

I found SEMRush's competitor information impressive and useful. The platform offers a simple way to understand which PPC and SEO keywords are providing traffic to a given website. As has become a recurring theme, SEMRush gives the user a bona fide wealth of data when conducting competitor research. If searching SEMRush for a single competitor web domain, one finds:

• The top 1,000+ keywords for the site (For each keyword, one can view: search volume, CPC, the linked URL for the SERP, its competition, the proportion of traffic it provides, etc.)
• Every PPC keyword that the site buys, along with the ad text for each term
• That site's top PPC and organic competitors
• Potential ads/traffic buyers and sellers

I don't fully understand how the two metrics about ads buying and selling were calculated – but I believe that ultimately, these listings are suggested (algorithmically) as top potential partners for ad sales, link exchange, etc. This was not my leading focus in this review, as SEO is my area of expertise.

As an SEO competitor research tool , SEMRush is terrific. It basically equips a marketer to lift ideas, tips, and strategies directly from competitors – allowing the user direct visibility into sites' organic keyword performance, Google ad placements (and copy) , alongside macro-level data like how much traffic is coming into the site from paid and organic sources, with its estimated worth. The tool allows ordinary marketers to pull solid ideas from other companies within their competitive atmosphere, and equips more skilled marketers to fine-tune their strategies and guarantee they haven't missed any “hidden gem” keywords that others were savvy to.

Here's a quick view of what a business in the retail industry who would cite ToyRUs as a competitor would see when using the tool:

Evaluating your content marketing strategy

Using the same domain search also puts the user in a strong position to evaluate the hundreds or thousands of keywords that are currently driving his site traffic (as well as all Google PPC results). Conducting research on brafton.com through this lens, I used a few new features:

The (new) backlinks report

This data was somewhat unwieldy to review in my browser (the results list out much like Google SERP's do), but some spot checking showed that the data was reputable. Essentially, this lists the web pages that link to your domain: the linking page's title and URL, plus the link's anchor text and URL. It's interesting for a quick or off-hand review of which of your content pages are effective for link building, but it lacks metrics to evaluate the links. It is a bit shallow for those seeking a more in-depth review.

Competitors in organic search

The intent here is great: I was excited to learn which sites were deemed my top competitors so that I could review their keyword and content marketing strategies. However, brafton.com's top competitors (of a field of 3,473) included Wikipedia, Google, Yahoo and Facebook. In other words – this algorithm could use some refinement, de-emphasizing the importance or authority of “competing” sites. In its current form, I could not effectively use this tool to understand a website's competitors because it is weighted improperly.

Even with that said, SEMRush gives users data that helps them understand the nature of their organic traffic: which terms bring the most site traffic, and which have the most potential for the future (also, which are risks to taper-off with time). I don't know of another tool that combines site-specific, traffic-proportionate, data one might find in Webmaster Tools or Google Analytics with measures like search volumes and CPC that one normally finds in paid SEO tools. SEMRush gives a helpful cross-section of information.

Other notable features and functions

Organic keywords Top 200

This feature supplies a researcher with SEMRush's suggestions for the 200 keywords that could provide the target site with the most benefit (if it improves its visibility around them). It's a calculation that combines the current ranking of the term (distance from first search position) with the term's search volume and the value of the term (as calculated by CPC). It's a great concept, but in my experience one should probably expect to sift through a number of irrelevant terms (that are trending at the time of research) in hopes of identifying one or a couple of new, focus keywords.

Traffic trends

SEMRush allows for simple charting of your site's search engine traffic versus up to four competitors. The format is clean and user-friendly, but the functionality is a little limited: the time span cannot be toggled, for instance. However, the same feature can also be used to run checks for a site's paid traffic, the value of its search traffic or the value of its paid traffic. In the end, this is a helpful tool.

Tutorial Videos and FAQ's

The site supplies its user with basic support materials explaining the service and its functionality. While generally helpful, they would benefit from a little more depth (there is only about six minutes of video help) and clarity. They are working in the right direction, but need more development.

API

SEMRush makes an API available to members. This was not something that I utilized or explored, but I would be interested to learn more about its potential applications: could it perhaps allow integration with proprietary dashes, or facilitate auto-reporting? For me, this stands as an interesting, admittedly unexplored, feature.

The bottom line on this SEO tool

SEMRush puts a wealth of data at its users' fingertips – and the majority of that data is easily digested and helpful to an SEO.

I have not seen another tool that supplies users with the ability to identify their websites' competitive, current standing on focus keywords with the thoroughness and nimbleness that SEMRush does. I have also not worked with a tool that enables so thorough a review of a single keyword.

Its capacity for competitor researching is its greatest asset in my view – as it essentially allows voyeurism to the brunt of web traffic to one, or all, of your competitors. I haven't encountered another service that makes it so simple to identify the sources of a competitor's traffic. SEMRush would be a great ally to someone looking to break new ground with an unproven website, or someone seeking a competitive edge in a tooth-and-nail battle for top positions.

Overall, SEMRush as a holistic offering could still use some refinement with regards to features, functions, and display types - but it should prove a valuable resource to any SEO committed to understanding the best keyword strategy to incorporate in content marketing for his or her website. I look forward to watching its evolution in coming weeks and months, and also to utilizing it as part of my ongoing work.

Market research firm comScore recently reported that customers in the financial industry are happier now than they were at this time last year. Effective internet marketing campaigns and greater web capability are the primary factors behind this improved reputation, according to comScore.

Consumers are using mobile apps and online banking to manage their finances more than ever before. However, they are also leveraging improved social media marketing capability from banks. ComScore reports that consumers are also increasingly accessible to financial institutions with social media campaigns as customers' visitation to leading sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter grew 31 percent in 2011.

There is more room for growth, though, with just 8 percent of web users interacting with a financial institution on the web.

The frequency with which users turn to the web to conduct banking activity is growing substantially. Nearly 66 percent of all users pay bills with debit or credit cards online. Many of these users rely on the web for their news and other information relating to their finances. As such, banks and other financial institutions can help their customers by providing information in the form of search-friendly content marketing. News content marketing could help banks share company updates and branded insights or tips on the latest financial developments while incorporating a keyword strategy to boost SERP standing.

Despite comScore's report of more time spent online researching or managing finances, Brafton recently reported that just 19 percent of banks believe they are doing an effective job of leveraging the web to boost visibility.

The "power user" has come to be the Holy Grail of engagement for businesses looking to boost their social media marketing. According to a report from Pew Internet Research, power users typically account for about one-quarter of all Facebook accounts and are ideal targets for businesses since they are the fans most likely to share content.

The report suggests there are ample opportunities for any business to find these users since they are spread across several demographics. According to Pew, 43 percent of the users they surveyed registered as power users in at least on category, including friend requests, Liking content, messages or tagging images.

For businesses, users more likely to Like content are ideal targets, since that will increase brand exposure to their friends. Brafton has reported that getting social content in front of friends of fans exponentially increases brands' reach.

Trying to identify these users may be difficult, but social media marketing should focus on the business' actual target audience. Given Pew's findings, it's likely that power users will be stumble upon the content in their usual Facebook activity. More than anything, Pew's survey demonstrates the value of relevant, timely social media marketing content.

Other interesting findings from the survey include a stat showing women update their statuses more frequently than men, and a finding that users add an average of seven new friends each month.

As Facebook continues to grow, more "power users" who can become valuable brand advocates may be accessible to social media marketers. Brafton recently reported that Facebook is expected to reach 1 billion users by August 2012. 

A report from market research firm comScore found that more than 47 percent of mobile phone owners in the United States accessed the web from their devices in the final three months of 2011. The figure represents a 4.6 percent increase from the previous three months, when 42.9 percent accessed mobile browsers and internet marketers should take note that their on-the-go audiences are growing.

Additionally, 47.6 percent of mobile phone owners downloaded an app, compared to 42.5 percent that did so in the previous quarter.

As both mobile apps and the mobile web become more popular, businesses can leverage the growth of these technologies by optimizing their web strategy for mobile use. Previously, mobile advertising meant expensive display ads. However, smartphone and tablet capabilities allow businesses to extend their organic multi-channel marketing strategies to mobile users.

Social media marketing, for example, benefits from rising mobile use as Facebook and Twitter apps are among the most popular applications for Anroid, iOS and BlackBerry OS users. Meanwhile, mobile search's growth means that SEO campaigns will reach those searching on their mobile devices as well.

Brafton recently reported that mobile search and overall web access from smartphones hit an all-time high in 2011. Moreover, Google, creator of the Android mobile operating system, recently announced the latest iteration of its mobile search app to make the process easier and faster for users.

Twitter marketing is increasingly mainstream, and businesses using the platform need to do more to ensure that their social media content stands out. According to a study from researchers at Carnegie Mellon University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Georgia Tech entitled Who Gives a Tweet, just one-third of Tweets have relevance to followers.

While Who Gives a Tweet suggests the share of Tweets that users find compelling is relatively high given the myriad uses of Twitter, social media marketing campaigns must be centered on content that appeals to ideal followers and prospects. Any material that does not add value or create interest is a wasted opportunity and could negatively impact a prospect's opinion of a company.

Other rules for social media marketing campaigns to live by include brevity, positive tones and adding a brand's unique perspective to trends or developments, the report suggests.

Brafton recently reported that social media marketing has provided businesses with several benefits, but the most frequently cited was improved brand awareness. Lead generation (cited by 81 percent) and website traffic (cited by 88 percent) were also top advantages.

When Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this morning in Pennsylvania, Americans grimaced at the thought of six more weeks of winter. Despite national interest in the groundhog's uncanny ability to predict weather more than a month in advance, searchers still do not think it necessary to spell his name correctly. 

Throughout the day, "Punksatony Phil," which is not his name, was a trending topic Google Trends, ranking as high as fifth on Thursday afternoon. The correct spelling, " Punxsutawney Phil," did not make the top 10 searches.

Nonetheless, marketers who leveraged Groundhog Day's popularity as part of their SEO and content marketing campaigns found it pays to incorporate trending words that are spelled correctly.

While this may seem obvious, searchers regularly spell words wrong and reliable, high-quality websites with correct spellings will still gain visibility on search results for users' incorrect spellings. Part of Google's evolution has led Googlebot to be able to assess what a searcher means even if they spell a query wrong. Among the results for "Punksatony Phil" were news articles about the groundhog and the event with the correct spelling. However, there were some results with the same misspelling on the SERP.

In general, spelling and grammar are becoming increasingly important, as Google and other search engines look for ways to measure high-caliber website content. Brafton recently reported that Google's most critical criteria for SEO is quality, and this deals with many different aspects of the content. Google engineer Matt Cutts has explicity said that spelling and grammar are important for search engine optimization. 

A study from the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth's Center for Marketing Research found that social media marketing campaigns have improved lead generation and web traffic for a majority of the businesses using the channel and investments are rising, accordingly.

Eighty-eight percent of businesses said they have increased their web traffic as a direct result of social media marketing. Additionally, 81 percent said the tool has improved lead generation.

Ninety percent of companies said using social has improved the visibility of their company as well. As more Americans turn to the web to make purchase decisions, ensuring that a company maintains a presence throughout the web is critical - and social marketing allows businesses to maintain a presence on these websites, while also boosting their search presence among logged-in users.

Most platforms saw increased investment in 2011, compared to 2010 - a trend UMD expects to continue. The lone site that saw a marked decrease was Myspace, which has become essentially obsolete in the last few years.

According to the report, 74 percent of companies are currently using Facebook marketing, compared to 71 percent in 2010. The growth compared to 2009 is even greater, when just 61 percent reported that they used the social network in their new media marketing mix.

Other networks becoming more popular as part of social media marketing include Linkedin, Twitter, YouTube and Foursquare - all of which showed growth last year. Google's entrant into the social market was absent from the survey, but it is certainly gaining interest among marketers.

Google+'s user growth could compel businesses to implement the platform into their social strategies. Brafton recently reported that the network now counts more than 100 million users.

A report from Bazaarvoice found that more than half of Millennials consider online content created by other users before recommendations from family, friends or colleagues. Fifty-one percent said the presence of reviews or other user-generated content on a website helps them get a better understanding of a product or service's true value.

Aside from reviews, Millennials' shopping decisions are influenced by endorsements and other feedback posted by friends, followers and other contacts on social networks. According to Bazaarvoice, 42 percent of respondents reported that content shared on Facebook, Twitter or some other social network is frequently the reason they decide for or against a purchase.

Businesses using social media marketing should encourage their followers to provide feedback on social platforms. Even negative feedback can be used to a business' benefit if the company responds and works to address the issue.

Actively responding to negative mentions will help businesses that incorporate this feedback improve their operations, and it will also tell prospects that the company values their opinion. Additionally, brands might consider tailoring their content marketing campaigns to include language that invites responses from site visitors and social followers.

"Whatever brands do, they need to follow the general principle of transparency, understanding there’s a huge group of consumers right now who just don’t trust them," said Lisa Pearson, vice president of global marketing at Bazaarvoice, told eMarketer. "There's only upside to opening up and giving people the ability to talk about your brand. That’s going to become the expected norm."

Millennials have demonstrated their reliance on web content when it comes to making purchase decisions. Moreover, they believe their voice matters as well, with many sharing their own experiences on social networks or other websites. Brafton recently reported that 46 percent of female Millennials regularly contribute content, whether on social networks or elsewhere, aimed at helping others decide on purchases.

Businesses looking to improve their web presence and build website leads can do so with a well-developed search engine optimization campaign, according to a recent report from Fleishman-Hillard. The company found that 89 percent of consumers turn to Google, Bing or another search engine to find information on products, services or businesses prior to making purchases.

The study points to dependence on search for shopping research as a "key insight into the influence the internet wields in consumers' lives," demonstrating the need for strong SEO strategies from brands. Brafton has argued that content is key for search optimization. Fleishman-Hillard's findings support the idea that creating original content aimed at informing consumers or B2B buyers without aggressive selling language will help businesses appeal to new prospects. The web has become, more than anything else, a massive portal of information. Businesses can leverage this trend by implementing a content marketing strategy focused on original articles about their industry.

Moreover, pairing a content marketing campaign with a social media marketing initiative may help businesses further reach consumers making purchase decisions. According to Fleishman-Hillard, 79 percent of consumers said they Like or follow brands on social networks to get more information about the company and its products and services.

"Today, the collective voice of the internet is eclipsing the persuasive power of family, friends or colleagues when it comes to influencing purchase decisions," Dave Senay, CEO of Fleishman-Hillard, said in a release.

In the B2B sector, content marketing campaigns with an SEO element are proving especially important to success. Brafton recently reported that more than 70 percent of enterprise purchase decisions begin on search engines.