The search marketing industry was buzzing last week after Google announced plans to begin encrypting all logged-in searches from Google.com. The buzz was strong on our sister site, Sphinn, where that topic was by far the most discussed of all last week.

Our “Discussion of the Week” asked users to weigh in on the impact of Google’s encrypted search and we currently have close to two dozen responses. Most of those were about the fact that some searches will no longer pass keyword referrals through to analytics programs. Our favorite comment came from Sphinn member Matt Crouch, who said:

Analytics will be how Keyword Research was (or still is). So now instead of exact data, when you look at the keyword referrers coming into your site, it will only be a sample of the total amount. I guess we will still be able to see what Keywords are performing well but as far as tracking specifc data – UGH.

Meanwhile, an article discussing the value of posting presentations to Slideshare for increasing visibility was the most popular story of the week among Twitter users. Read on for the full recap of last week’s Sphinn activity.

Most Comments

• Discussion: Impact of Google's Encrypted Search? – We usually do our "Discussion of the Week" on Wednesdays, but this news seems worth getting started a day early. Google has just announced plans to begin encrypting searches and outbound clicks by default for logged-in users searching on Google.com. Let's talk about the impact that this decision will have for online marketers, website owners, etc. The floor is open — rant away, or sing Google's praises — whichever you prefer!
• Mobile SEO is a Myth – Ryan Jones explains why "The best Mobile SEO strategy is to not have a mobile SEO strategy."
• Google Invests in Privacy for Profit – SEO heroine Rhea Drysdale summarizes Google's recent 'privacy evolvement': "Guess what? Google just pissed on the SEO community and tried to call it rain."

Most Tweeted (not already listed above)

• The Power of Slideshare for Inbound Marketing – A short but interesting look at using slides/presentations to gain extra visibility, especially during speaking presentations.
• Facebook security updates – how to update your account – Maybe the most comprehensive article I've seen about all of the changes Facebook has made to its security options.
• What Are Mobile Marketing Opt-ins and Why Are They Important? – An interesting look at how some companies are enticing customers to sign-up for text alerts and other mobile marketing offers.
• Interviews in Search: Avinash Kaushik – The master of analytics discusses a variety of issues.
• Should I Change My URLs for SEO? – Dr. Pete offers an excellent overview on the topic.
• 7 Quick Ways to Turn Your LinkedIn Profile into a Social Media Marketing Workhorse – Your LinkedIn profile says everything about who you are professionally. And since it tends to rank well on Google for your name, people will read your LinkedIn profile when they want to do research on you, your product, service, or company.

Hot On Sphinn: October 17 to October 23, 2011

• The Day We Closed Google Headquarters: An Illustration Of The Problem With Crowd Sourced Edits – Google's recent testing of crowd-sourced location verification interfaces for business Place pages is problematic. Attempting to show why, a few local marketers flagged Google's own headquarters as closed.
• How Technical SEO Procrastination Hurts Your Redesign Effort – Jeff Louella's article discusses some common mistakes when implementing technical SEO and why it's important to incorporate SEO from the beginning of a site redesign as opposed to a "quick fix of titles and metas" before a site launches.
• 7 Lessons Learned Running an SEO Agency – Excellent advice from Neil Patel.
• 10 Truths about Social Media & Social Business you need to know – “Social” is something you are, not something you do. If your company culture doesn’t focus on building relationships with your customers, then chances are that you won’t use social media to do it either. The “media” doesn’t dictate how social a company is or isn’t. It simply enhances its ability to be a social business – if in fact it is – or illustrates the extent to which it isn’t.
• 25 Tips For Giving Your PPC Campaigns a Boost – Good post with ideas and areas to look into to improve your pay per click campaigns.
• The 60-30-60 Framework: A Non-Writer's Help Guide – An interesting view about how to write for the web.
• How Many of Your Visitors Are Logged In to Google? – A real world test shows that 11% of users were logged in to Google. The question is not about size but about whether these users display different behavior and conversion rates.
• The Complete Google Panda Reference Guide – Everything you need to know about Google's Panda algorithm (up to the most current iteration) all in one place.  Get explanations about each Panda roll-out as well as timeline.
• The 2011 Web Analytics Review [Infographic] – Web Analytics infographic based on Google’s ongoing study of web browsing behavior.
• Who Are You Writing Blog Posts For – Either the content makes or break your websites' success. The perfect formula is shared within this article. Feel free to check it out when you have some time.
• HTML5 and SEO: New Strategies for Optimizing Code – The evolution of HTML has been a long transition away from how things look and toward what things mean. Gone are the days when web pages were cobbled together in HTML tables to compensate for limited layout controls.
• Neil Patel’s Guide to Writing Popular Blog Posts – Some solid blog writing tips from one of the better-known bloggers/thought leaders in our industry.
• Leveraging User Research for More Effective Feature Prioritization – Some of the best guidance to identify high priority features comes from the research you have about your users. Here's how you can use that insight to make the 'right' decisions.
• What SEOs Must Learn from Adwords Folks – An argument that SEO's should copy some of the PPC methodology & accountability.

This is the latest in a weekly look at the stories that were “hot” on Sphinn in the past week. We’ll post these recaps every week.

Related Topics: Channel: Other | Features: General | Sphinn

About The Author: Matt McGee is Editor-In-Chief of Search Engine Land. His news career includes time spent in TV, radio, and print journalism. His web career continues to include a small number of SEO and social media consulting clients, as well as regular speaking engagements at marketing events around the U.S. He blogs at Small Business Search Marketing and can be found on Twitter at @MattMcGee and/or on Google Plus. You can read Matt's disclosures on his personal blog. See more articles by Matt McGee

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