Top Search Marketing Columns & Contributed Features Of 2012

As an industry news publication, the majority of our visitor traffic comes to our site to read daily news updates, in-depth coverage of search engine technologies and ever-evolving search engine algorithms.

On top of the hardest working full- and part-time editorial staff in search, we have over 100 guest columnists who dedicate a significant amount of time and energy to share their experience and expertise with the rest of the search marketing industry.

Collectively, these contributors round out our daily news coverage by sharing thoughtful observations, successful strategies and tactics, technical tips and best practices for core components of SEO/SEM with the community at large.

It’s an impressive thing to look across all of the Search Engine Land columns and see how many times these articles have been read and shared over the last year. While each of these authors have written impressive entries this year to take overall top honors, all of our expert columnists have contributed greatly to our continued growth, and we’re extremely honored to host each and every one of their contributions.

Top 10 Columns Overall For 2012

1. The Social Search Revolution: 8 Social SEO Strategies To Start Using Right Now – published March 20, 2012 by Jordan Kasteler, Search & Social, 2,004 tweets, 708 likes, 389 +1’s, 1,353 Linkedin Shares
2. How Much Does SEO Cost? 3 Analogies To Help You Determine Its Value – published February 2, 2012 by Trond Lyngbø, All Things SEO,  1288 tweets, 336 likes, 192 +1’s, 889 Linkedin Shares
3. The Definitive Guide To Google Authorship Markup  – published June 4, 2012 by Rick DeJarnette, All Things SEO/Enterprise SEO, 798 tweets, 114 likes, 270  +1’s, 304 Linkedin Shares
4. Social Search: Dead On Arrival? Or On Life Support?  – published April 17, 2012  by Trond Lyngbø, Search & Social, 403 tweets, 34 likes, 35 +1’s 142 Linkedin Shares
5. Google Places Ranking Factors – The PhD Version  – published March 19, 2012  by Andrew Shotland, Local Search, 1075 tweets, 242 likes, 194 +1’s, 551 Linkedin Shares
6. The Hidden Cost Of Cheap SEO & Social Media Labor  – published September 4, 2012 by Jordan Kasteler, Search & Social, 1829 tweets, 595 likes, 352 +1’s, 827 Linkedin Shares
7. The Ultimate Guide To Enterprise SEO: 25 Things To Know Before You Take The Plunge  – published January 31, 2012 by Brian Provost, Enterprise SEO, – 849 tweets, 115 likes, 129 +1’s, 559 Linkedin Shares
8. Study: 72% Of Consumers Trust Online Reviews As Much As Personal Recommendations  – published March 12, 2012 by Myles Anderson, Local Search, 1212 tweets, 370 likes, 145 +1’s, 848 Linkedin Shares
9. Three Free Keyword Research Tools  – published July 3, 2012 by Jenny Halasz, Keywords & Content, 747 tweets, 80 likes, 62 +1’s, 99 Linkedin Shares
10. How To Manage Big Data With Pivot Tables – published July 20, 2012 by Annie Cushing, Search & Analytics, 608 tweets, 52 likes, 68 +1’s, 65 Linkedin Shares

Most Popular Special Features By Contributing Writers In 2012*

• Volunia, A Social Search Engine, Says The Web Has Come Alive February 7, 2012 by Sean Carlos
• How Search & Social Engines Are Using Semantic Search – September 26, 2012 by Barbara Starr
• Google Fails To Trounce Bing (Again): The Fallacy Of The Superior Search Engine Revisited January 11, 2012 by Conrad Saam
• The SEO Breakdown: Bank Information Center Site Audit April 5, 2012  by Chris Fernandez
• Who Has Search Engine Marketers’ Backs? No One – We Need Lobbyists May 23, 2012 by Tony Wright

*Does not include staff writers, only guest contributors who have submitted content outside of our daily columns.