Interesting Reading This Week

It's that time again! If you follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Google+ then you’ve probably seen us sharing the following posts. If not, it's time to catch up on your reading! Here’s a quick update on some of the posts we read and found interesting recently. Follow the links to get updated.

CMS Wire brings us an interesting read this week, all about content personalization and the common issues marketers have with the practice. Content targeting should be adopted by all good marketers. How else can you reach consumers and draw them in with a balance of their 'need to know' and their 'want to know'. Have a read of this one for some interesting reports on content personalization and its role in marketing today.

Elcom had an interesting article this week about A/B testing. A/B testing is used to see which design elements of a web site get the most engagement from the user. This article will have a look at what elements should be tested and why. One tip from the article states that most people stop running tests as soon as positive results occur. Instead, A/B testing should be an ongoing process to ensure you're getting as much info as you can.

Interested in starting up your own blog? Have a read of this article on the Moz Blog, where Matthew details his "Recipe for Success" for creating and managing a blog from a content, social, and SEO-based perspective. It's important to understand the roles of competitor analysis and success measurement in successful blogging before you jump in. This article will explain that in great detail, with a real-life example. So, get to know the ins and outs of blogging and arm yourself with the tools you need (including good content) to reach success.

Interested in knowing a bit more about Hubspot? This post over at Venture Beat discusses how Hubspot has not only built a great company but has also changed the practice of marketing. A few weeks ago, Hubspot decided to launch as a public company on the New York Stock Exchange. Hubspot's initial public offering (IPO) or stock market launch proved successful, and this article explains that the company's impressive financial performance is only overshadowed by its important role in educating a new generation of marketers.

This one's an important read if you want to know a bit more about Google's Panda algorithm and what Google sources subjectively consider to be High Quality web page factors, as opposed to Low Quality web page factors. Google's Panda algorithm has never truly been straight forward, however, this article discusses the leaked "rules" Google may be using as a basis for their Quality algorithm. Have a read of this one for the dos and don'ts and how to make your website better in the eyes of the Panda.

Yesware examines ways to improve your email subject lines in their post from earlier this month. Obama campaigners got away with their suprisingly successful email subject line in 2012 which consisted of a single word: "Hey." That email brought in millions of dollars. It's pretty impressive, but not everyone can do that and get the same results. Take a look at this discussion to understand what words are better than others in subject lines and how you can formulate a list of subject lines ready to be used for any email circumstance.

Let us know in the comments if you enjoyed any of these informative reads.

Image credit: Simon Abrams.