31 of the Best Internet Marketing Articles of the Year (So Far)

It seems that every few months something huge is going down in the world of online marketing. It’s such an action-packed industry that it’s often easy to miss some of the awesome content and major milestones that occur in the field.

It’s no fun to be behind the times, which is why we’re bringing you the 31 best internet marketing articles from a variety of sources and experts.

From modern link building guides and content promotion plans to industry news and groundbreaking studies, there’s something for everyone.

Best Internet Marketing Articles: Content Marketing and Promotion

1. How to Create a Winning Content Promotion Plan

Buzz Stream gives a run down on how to create a top-notch content promotion plan, ensuring that your stellar content gets the attention it deserves.

2. How to Create Great Content That Drives Traffic

In this comprehensive article from OkDork, Noah Kagan explains his skyscraper technique for creating great content that drives legitimate traffic.

This post is incredibly detailed and takes you through the step-by-step process for seeking out topics that will perform well in your niche. Noah’s skyscraper technique has been celebrated often following this post – be sure to give it your time and attention!

3. We Analyzed Nearly 1 Million Headlines. Here’s What We Learned

Headlines a huge, as every content marketer knows. A Garrett Moon guest post on OkDork (adorable name) shows what makes a popular headline with some nice data pie charts to back it all up. Some stuff is obvious (list posts are awesome) but other tips may provide some eureka moments.

4. Writing Tips: How to Come Up With 50 Topic Ideas in 30 Minutes

Is your brain busted? Can’t break through the writer’s block wall? Entrepreneur is coming to the rescue, showing you how to think up 50 fresh article ideas in less time than it takes to watch an episode of Modern Family.

5. 16 Explosive Content Promotion Strategies

While the “all you need is great content” manta is slung around more than sloppy joes at a middle school food fight, we all know it takes a hell of a lot more than “great content” to run a successful website. Creating awesome content is step 1, but what comes after that? Robbie Richards clues us in to 16 awesome strategies and tools to use for content promotion. Really good stuff here you may not have seen before!

6. The Ideal Length of Everything Online

The Buffer blog brings us another super special study: the ideal length for everything online, backed by real research. Get the highlights with a quick flick through and read the details if you’d like. Learn the perfect number of words in a headline, characters in a tweet, words in Facebook posts, and more.

Best Internet Marketing Articles: SEO

7. The Complete Google Leaked PANDA Do & Don’t List – 2011 to Present

Panda and its successors have forever altered the SEO landscape. This guide from The Moral Concept gives you all the “dos” and “don’ts” to avoid the Panda landmines and create a Google-friendly site.

8. All-New Beginner’s Guide to Link Building

Moz provides a comprehensive guide to modern link building, covering all the nitty-gritty details you need to be a successful link builder. Learn how to create a blogger outreach list, how to craft a solid outreach email, how to conduct broke link building, and SO much more.

9. 50+ Google Analytics Resources – The 2014 Edition

This awesome collection of Google Analytics resources from Kiss Metrics will help you become an analytics master. Dig into guides detailing every aspect of Google Analytics, from data segmentation to split testing.

10. ROBOTS.TXT DISALLOW: 20 Years of Mistakes to Avoid

This year marks two decades of robots.txt. Brian Ussery discusses why robots.txt exists and common robots.txt mistakes that are best avoided.

11. Open Letter to the New SEO Generation

Jenny Halasz of Search Engine Land offers words of advice and guidance to the next SEO generation. Take to heart young online marketers – the future is now!

Best Internet Marketing Articles: Google News

12. Your Google Algorithm Cheat Sheet: Panda, Penguin, and Hummingbird

As Google’s menagerie grows large enough to rival Disney’s Animal Kingdom, more technical tranquilizers and Serengeti strategy is needed to keep from being devoured alive (and no way are hummingbirds are harmless – they could poke your eye out in an instant!) Moz provides a comprehensive explanation of Google’s major algorithm updates and how to play nice with the wild beasties.

13. HTTPS As a Ranking Signal

Google announces HTTPS as an official search ranking signal. While it’s only a light signal for now, it’s worth reading up and considering if you should transition to HTTPS (if you haven’t already).

14. The Advanced Guide to Google Penalty Removal

Google slapped you across the face and left a nasty bruise – what next? Data Dial helps you get on the road to recovery with a walkthrough guide for recuperation. Put away those frozen peas, help is here!

15. It’s Over: The Rise & Fall of Google Authorship for Search Results

2014 marks the demise of the Google Authorship experiment, simply proving that Google is as fickle a mistress as ever. Search Engine Land provides a sweet eulogy for this now-buried feature that once rocked the online search landscape. What happened Google Authorship? You were the chosen one! You were supposed to bring peace and balance to the search world, not leave it in darkness. Oh well. There’s always Google+…

Best Internet Marketing Articles: Email Marketing

16. How We Doubled Email Signups in 30 Days

Buffer blog brings us a great article about how to double your email subscribers! Sounds too good to be true? Read and see for yourself.

17. 32 Clever Lead Generation Ideas For Your Next Marketing Campaign

If you’re on the hunt for leads (and who isn’t?) check out Unbounce’s awesome assortment of lead-generating tips. Get your pen and paper ready, because those names and numbers will soon be flooding in!

18. 9 Best Email Subject Lines to Your Increase Open Rates

A great email is useless if no one reads it – learn which email subject lines you need to get noticed in the inbox. From yours truly!

Best Internet Marketing Articles: Social Media

19. 45 Fabulous Facebook Advertising Tips & Magic Marketing Tricks

We take you through all things Facebook – from advertising 101 to social posts that drive engagement and dialogue. We’ve got you covered with this one-stop shop for Facebook marketing.

20. 6 Social Media Marketing Strategies to Drastically Improve Your Efforts in 2014

Margot daCunha of WordStream takes us through six spectacular social media strategies that will continue to prove valuable long after 2014 comes to a close.

21. 5 Brilliant Ways to Use #Hashtags in Social Media Marketing

Search Engine Watch takes us through a lesson in hashtags, covering the history of hashtags online and citing successful hashtag campaigns. #HashtagHelp

22. 50 Tweetable Tips You Wish You Knew Years Ago

HubSpot gives 50 short and sweet Twitter tips that every marketer should skim through. The coolest part? Every tip is tweetable! It’s tweetception – quick, get Leo over here!

23. How to Easily Double Your Traffic from Social Media

Kiss Metrics explains how to get the most out of your social media networks by reposting your content multiple times. You’ll even get help developing a social sharing schedule to ensure that you’re sharing your content multiple times without getting labeled as a spammer.

24. 13 Ways to Beat the Facebook Algorithm

Our own Larry Kim dishes out 13 strategies for fighting the new brand bashing Facebook algorithm blues.

25. New Report Reveals Just How Drastically Brand Engagement is Plummeting on Facebook

Facebook has been wreaking havoc on brand engagement since their algorithm update in June 2014. Organic engagement has plummeted for everyone from Disney to Intel, as this report for Contently illustrates.

26. Ultimate List of IFTTT Recipes for Marketers

If you don’t know about IFTTT it’s time to learn! IFTTT is a free automation tool that lets you connect functionality between different apps. For example, you could use IFTTT to automatically post your instagram pics on Twitter. IFTTT is one of the tools featured in our social media promotion tools. In this post, Seer Interactive details the ultimate list of IFTTT recipes specifically for marketing masters. Check it out!

27. Study: How Marketers Optimize Their Social Content

B2B Marketing Mentor provides some awesome data on how many social media outlets the average marketer uses, how many social media posts marketers conduct each day, how many marketers schedule posts in advance, etc. Definitely an interesting study worth taking a look at.

28. 5 Painfully Obvious But Extremely Effective Facebook Tactics Nobody Told You About

Unbounce elaborates on some obvious tactics, brining the discussion to some not-so-obvious places. Studies have shown emoticons increase comments, but as Unbounce shows, not all emoticons are created equal! :0

Best Internet Marketing Articles: Conversion Optimization

29. Beginner’s Guide to Conversion Rate Optimization

Qualaroo presents a thorough guide to conversion rate optimization. Learn why it matters and how to create your own tailored testing and optimization plan. Long live CROs, the true defenders of the realm.

30. Everything You Know About Conversion Rate Optimization Is Wrong

You thought you knew conversion rates – but you thought wrong! Larry Kim debunks some common conversion rate canon and shows what a truly good conversion rate looks like.

31. 6 Proven Ways to Boost the Conversion Rates of Your Call-to-Action Buttons

Copyblogger takes us into some intense conversion rate testing with call-to-action buttons. See what works and what doesn’t in this super thorough and handy article.

Are you thinking: I can’t believe they didn’t include ___________ in the list!? Tell us what digital marketing news we missed in the comments!