Eric Wendt

Brafton’s Weekly Content Marketing Roundup features the latest news and trends in the world of content marketing. This week we’re diving into stories about modern search engine optimization techniques, the engagement opportunities of visual embeds, the use of emojis in social media and much more.

Bringing on-page SEO out of the dark ages

The one and only Wizard of Moz, Rand Fishkin, recently published a primer on the outdated on-page SEO techniques content marketing pros need to leave in the dust, including keyword repetition rules and an undying belief that link-building is the be-all and end-all of ranking higher on search engine results pages. Give it a read.

Separating the best from the rest on social

A single conversion is worth a million likes.Convinced all social media metrics are created equal? We’re sorry to disappoint, but some measurements need to take precedent. Before you unfollow us on Facebook or tweet us a string of expletives, check out our story on why engagement, shares and conversions should be given the red-carpet treatment. Find it here.

How visual embeds give content marketing a boost

Are you one of the 65 percent of people more likely to remember this statistic because it was presented visually?If you’re incorporating embedded visual elements into your content marketing, it means 65 percent of your audience will remember it better.

Google Data Studio weds Search Console

We here at Brafton aren’t shy about singing the praises of Google’s Search Console, so we were thrilled to hear it now officially integrates with the search engine giant’s reporting tool, Data Studio. Coming on the heels of Google announcing users can create unlimited reports in Data Studio, Search Engine Land described the marriage of these two powerful tools. Read on.

America puts SEO to work

If the current job market is telling us one thing, it’s that SEO remains a priority for U.S. businesses. Search Engine Journal reported that based on research over the past nine months, the job market for SEO professionals has grown five times faster than that of the overall job market. Click here to find out more.

Learn to interpret your integers

Not all scary numbers want to eat youNothing sends content marketers barreling under their beds faster than drops in website traffic. Brafton Director of Digital Marketing Strategy Jeff Baker explained why this shouldn’t be the case. Using a Brafton client’s analytics, Jeff zeroed in on what you can learn from supposedly scary numbers, including the idea that reduced traffic doesn’t always equal fewer conversions. Check out his research.

Keeping an eye on your content

With so much focus on technology, it’s easy to forget the human piece of the content marketing puzzle. MarketingProfs recently shared an infographic from iMotions that acts as a handy reminder to keep your website visitors – and their peepers – in mind when producing content and designing the user experience. Click to see how eye tracking works.

[Insert cool sunglasses emoji here]

Compiling data from a social research report, MarketingProfs also recently shared the secret power of emojis on Instagram. Did you know posts that include emojis have 17 percent more likes and comments than their emoji-free counterparts? It’s time to get cracking on those smiley faces for your next Insta update. Read more here.

That’s all the content marketing news that’s fit to print this week. Tune in next Friday for another collection of our favorite recent content marketing stories from around the web.