Top Five Online Marketing Stories for 9/10 – 9/17

Almost every business owner knows the importance of building an online presence. But, how can you know which vendors to trust? This article provides six tips you can use to sort out the bad search engine marketing firms from the good ones in order to get the most out of your investment.

Link: http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2205127/How-to-Avoid-Hiring-a-Bad-SEM-Vendor

7 Important Digital Assets To Optimize Brand Exposure

This article highlights seven avenues for online branding optimization outside of SEO you may not have thought about. If your company has not implemented these crucial strategies for spreading your image and message, it’s time to hunker down and get working.

Link: http://searchengineland.com/7-important-digital-assets-to-optimize-for-132001

Apple to Release New Maps App & Siri Enhancements in iOS 6 Update

At the iPhone 5 launch event, Apple discussed plans for its Google Maps alternative as well as enhancements to it’s voice operated assistant, Siri. Both features will be included in its iOS 6 update later this month. Maps and Siri are expected to compete with Google for a share of local search queries.

Link: http://searchengineland.com/apple-demos-local-search-maps-and-siri-enhancements-for-iphone-5-133046

36% of Emails Are Opened By Mobile Devices

Since 2010 Knotice, a direct digital marketing firm, has been monitoring the rise and impact of mobile email across 11 industry segments. It’s newest findings reveal that 36% of its 807 million emails sent in the first half of 2012 were opened by a mobile device (compared to 20% a year ago).

Link: http://marketingland.com/report-mobile-driving-36-percent-of-all-email-opens-21049

“Made in USA” Matters to US Shoppers

76% of those surveyed by Perception Research Services said “Made in the USA” made them more likely to buy the product. When asked why, most cited helping the economy. If your business offers products that are “Made in the USA”, then you should be taking full advantage of it.

Link: http://www.marketingpilgrim.com/2012/09/survey-shows-made-in-usa-matters.html