It’s been a little quiet round here of late. But it hasn’t been out of total and utter laziness, as I have been writing for the shiny new Next Digital blog. The links to my recent posts are below if you want to go check them out:

• Case Study: OfficeMax Ecommerce Launch
• Who won the online election?
• Location: The next big thing on the web

I’ve also written a short piece on mobile marketing for an upcoming edition of Marketing Mag. So there you have it. Go forth and read my pretties…

Everyone knows that link building is a fundamental activity for any SEO program (or at least everyone who works on the web). Yet the topic of link optimisation gets relatively minuscule airplay in comparison, which is kinda weird when you consider the whole purpose of SEO is optimisation. In essence, link optimisation refers to the process of optimising existing links to extract maximum SEO benefit. It can be a rich exercise, and is the topic of my guest post over at Search Engine People.

Check out – Back to basics with link optimisation

I must admit, I hate the way people add ‘Tw’ to the start of an existing word to describe it in context of Twitter (Eg Tweeple). But I think I may have just helped to popularise the term ‘twanker’, also known as a Twitter wanker. I’ve just written a post for my good pal Dave Harry at Huomah that analyses the recent Twitter scandal surrounding Kyle & Jackie O (who were famously dubbed Twitter wankers). In particular, I tackle the issue of the mass media mindset that most people bring to social environments, and the challenge it presents social media marketers.

Check out Avoiding the curse of the Twitter wanker now

My latest monthly post for SEO Scoop has just been published. The post addresses the sometimes tricky topic of social media measurement. While online marketing has always thrived on accountability, social media takes marketers beyond the comfort zone of direct response and into a world of more fuzzy objectives related to attitudinal shifts and customer retention. But this does not mean marketing initiatives cannot be measured. And in the post I show how I constructed tangible metrics around some fuzzy marketing objectives, with the help of a few specific tools.

Check out ‘Getting a measure on social media metrics‘ now. And for an even more comprehensive review of specialist social media measurement tools, check out this presentation (hat tip Gavin Heaton).

After slacking off in May, I’ve taken back my regular spot on SEO Scoop in June. My post this month provides a beginner’s guide to marketing on Twitter (with help from my pal Matt Edge). The post provides guidance and case studies to those marketers unsure of how they can intergrate Twitter into their business. Six core marketing applications are outlined including customer support, research, informing, promoting, building word of mouth & branding.

Check out ‘A beginner’s guide to Twitter marketing‘ now

The time has come for me to do my thing over at SEO Scoop again. I avoided the temptation to publish a lame April Fool’s Day prank like everyone else and stayed focused on the task at hand. This time round I’ve contributed a case study on niche SEO targeting. More specifically, I’ve provided a summary of how my list of Aussie brands on Twitter shot straight to a top two position in Google within a matter of weeks, and immediately became the number one organic search term for my blog.

Check out ‘Carving out instant niche rankings‘ at SEO Scoop

My transformation from anti-Twitter activist to total Twitter whore is now officially complete with my recent guest post at TwiTip. Ironically enough, not that long ago I was contemplating co-writing a guest post for TwiTip arguing the pointlessness of Twitter. And now I’m contributing to TwiTip singing it’s praises. How quick things change! Anywhoo… my post provides a case study on my recent Twitter whoring post, looking at how a single Tweet snowballed into a tornado of traffic. Or as I like to call it – a real life butterfly effect.

Read ‘Twitter and The Butterfly Effect’ at TwiTip.

Howdy partners. My guest blogging tour rolls on today over at SEO Scoop, where I’ve taken on a role as a regular contributor. I’ll be writing for the Scoop on a monthly basis from now on. My initial post tackles an important lesson in link building – it’s all about the quality baby! Indeed, I deconstruct the elements of a true high quality link.

Check out ‘The true formula for link building gold‘

It was a pleasure to guest blog for my Canadian friends over at Search Engine People today. The Search Engine People blog was one of the very first I ever added to my RSS reader and has remained compulsory reading ever since. What’s more Jeff, Ruud and the rest of the crew are amongst the most approachable A-listers on the Net. My post extends the social media mythbusting series I’ve been working on over the last month or so. This time I dispel the myth that customers are vengeful creatures desperately waiting for an opportunity to troll your business. To prove it I took on the painstaking task of analysing 150 user comments from 3 separate blogs to determine the negative comment ratio. I included the GM blog because I figured if anyone would be getting troll treatment right now, it’s GM. It was hard work, but the results are fascinating.

Read ‘Social media mythbusting – The customer’s gonna get me‘ now

This week I’ve loaned my time to the Australian Marketing Institute. As part of my day-to-day job for Next Digital I’ve written a piece on everybody’s favourite topic of the moment – recession marketing. In particular, I provide some recommendations on how to optimise online marketing budgets in 2009. It’s  a little more formal than most of my work here, and I discuss channels I rarely mention on my blog (analytics & email). But I do manage to sneak in a reference for social media… huzzah! And as an added bonus, if you head over there you’ll get to see an image of me in a suit…

Check out the post – Mission 2009: Optimise your digital media