The most anticipated day of the week is finally here! And with it, as usual, is our Friday Catch-UP. This week we’ve got news from Google and Facebook among others. Let’s go over some of the most important events of the week in greater detail.
News and Events
Google Having Trouble with iTunes Preview Pages
Google admits it is having a hard time showing the preview pages’ listing for iTunes apps. Some users faced problems finding iTunes apps on Google and complied about it. The initial reaction was that Google was intentionally blocking iTunes to spite Apple. Fortunately, that is not the case. Rather, it is a case of Google having trouble assembling the various preview pages for iTunes apps. The company expects the issue to be resolved soon. Read more at Search Engine Land.
Google Attempts to Merge Online and Offline Retail
Google has made its intentions known about tapping into the lucrative eCommerce sector. 
The tech giant took a large stride towards that goal by unveiling ‘same day delivery’ for its online retail store. The feature is still in beta testing and Google is encouraging more users in the San Francisco Bay Area to try it out. According to the company, the testing will continue for a further six months and ‘same day delivery’ would be free during the phase. Google wants to work out an adequate pricing plan for the service through testing. Read more at Marketing Land.
Google Transferring Businesses from Places to Google+ Local
Google has responded to complaints of business owners about the trouble they face when using Google+ and Google Places. In a new update announced recently, Google is starting off the process of transferring the businesses listed on Google Places to Google+ Local. Business owners would no longer have to bear the hassle they constantly faced previously. Not only will this make Google+ Local easier to use for businesses but provide better integration with Google AdWords. Read more at Search Engine Journal.
Google Alerts Is Back In Action
Though Google hasn’t announced anything of the sort, it has been noted that Google Alerts has improved considerably from the nightmare it was facing over the past couple of months. Due to the incessant complaints, several web experts had started pushing alternatives to Google Alerts. That is no longer necessary as Google Alerts is, pretty much, back to its old self. It remains to be seen whether Google makes it official. Read more at Search Engine Land.
Bulk Keyword Upload Feature Release for Google AdWords
Google continues to roll out new features for AdWords. Building on the bulk editing tools the company introduced at the tail-end of last year, a new bulk keyword upload feature has been released for Google AdWords. Marketers can use the feature to tweak their keyword campaign easily without much hassle. They can now add keywords to their campaign, change the keywords they are using or remove any which aren’t delivering results in bulk. Read more at Search Engine Land.
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Useful Posts worth Reading and Bookmarking
Explaining Top Marketing Metrics
There are some key online marketing metrics based on numbers. While you don’t need to be a math whiz to understand them, you will have to apply yourself to figure them out and how you can use them. Given the fact that online marketers are not exactly known for possessing the greatest math skills, a lot of work has to be done in this regard. Understanding the top marketing metrics goes a long way towards helping you achieve that. Read more at Hubspot.
Using Twitter Cards and Content Marketing to Increase App Downloads
Twitter isn’t exactly the first social network that comes to mind when talking about 
content marketing. However, the website has made some changes and tweaks which have made it possible to use it as the hub of your content marketing campaign. In particular, the Twitter Cards is a great new feature marketers can use. Using a combination of Twitter Cards and content marketing, you can increase your app download. Read more at eConsultancy.
Answering Common Link Building Questions
Link building is one of the cornerstones of any online marketing campaign. Without linking your landing page to any website, you cannot possibly drive a large volume of traffic towards it. This is why you have to learn to use link building in the most effective way possible. However, there are some things about link building which can confuse you and cause problems. Reading the answers to some of the most common link building questions can help you overcome most of them. Read more at SEOmoz.
How to Get People to Read What You Post
Content marketing is being touted as the way of the future for online marketers. Yet, you will find that people don’t like reading online all that much. The average time spent by them on a website is less than a minute. You cannot expect them to get through an entire blog post in a few seconds. What you have to do is to learn the tactics to get people to read what you have posted. After all, content posted but not read is quite useless. Read more at eConsultancy.
Learning to Share at the Right Time
Sharing content using social networks has become a preferred tactic for virtually all marketers. In a bid to gain maximum exposure, they try and share their content with a large audience. However, it is not the number of people you share your content with but the time at which you share it which influences the end result. This is why you have to learn to share content on the social networks at the right time. Read more at Internet Marketing Ninjas.
Making the Perfect Title Tags
Title tags are so common on the web that they get ignored more often than not. Marketers shouldn’t forget the importance of a solid title tag. It is fast becoming a forgotten art. While not paying too much attention to your title tags might not cause the downfall of your campaign, working on them could boost the results you achieve. There are some key pointers you need to keep in mind to make the perfect title tags. Read more at Search Engine Journal.
Tweetable Stats to Build Credibility
Nothing builds online credibility like stats. Yet, sometimes marketers have a hard time figuring out which stats to share with their fans and followers. If you are looking to promote yourself as an expert on online marketing, there are at least four dozen stats you can share on Twitter. These stats are authentic and reliable and most of all, they are Tweetable. It is a great way for you to build credibility on a leading social networking website. Read more at Unbounce.
De-Penalizing Yourself on Google
Google has been dishing out manual penalties left, right and center. While a Google penalty 
isn’t something good, you can lift the manual penalties on your own. It is all about knowing the ways in which you can remove unnatural links and any other content which may have prompted Google to penalize you. Some websites have successfully de-penalized themselves on Google already. Read more at SEOmoz.
Videos and Infographics of the Week
Putting Content Creation on Autopilot
Sometimes one does wonder how content-rich websites like Hubspot keep churning out new content day in, day out. With content marketing growing in importance, content creation has become an important point of discussion. The great news is that you don’t have to bear too much hassle over creating content. Rather there are some tips you can follow to put your content creation on autopilot. View the slideshow about putting content creation on autopilot at Hubspot.
Google Leads List of Top April Fools’ Day Pranks
Google released a Porcupine update on Monday and many people bought into it right away. What they didn’t know is that Google was in on the April Fools’ Day pranks thing and had tricked them quite convincingly. Well, Google wasn’t the only one in the mood as there were a number of other pranks which emerged across the internet. The list of the top 10 pranks carried out this year on April 1st will let you know about the best ones. View the videos about the top 10 2013 April Fools’ Day pranks at Search Engine Journal.
Does Buying Links Hurt a Website’s Google Ranking?
In this week’s video from Google’s Matt Cutts, he discusses the possible results of buying links on a website’s Google ranking. The video is a short one, not even lasting two minutes. However, Cutts does make some important points, the most notable being that the links from the selling website don’t benefit the buying website in any way whatsoever. View the view at Search Engine Roundtable to learn more about whether buying links hurts a website’s ranking on Google.
Making the Most of Facebook Advertising
Facebook is not only the leading social network in the world but also a marketers’ dream. The range of advertising and marketing options offered by Facebook is rivaled by none. However, the variety can sometimes cause confusion for marketers when they have to select the tools they want to use for their online marketing campaigns. Make no mistake, using Facebook could boost your campaign considerably.
Yet, you have to make sure you are using the social network in the best way possible. This is why you need to learn the steps you should follow to make the most of Facebook advertising. View the video about making the most of Facebook advertising or read the transcript at SEOmoz.
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