A sitemap provides search engines with the URLs, but SEO experts and Webmasters also need to provide a crawlable navigation scheme to leverage the power of internal anchor text on Web sites. Michael Gray tells us without that anchor text it becomes more difficult for search engines to understand what's on the page. The new canonical tag has the ability to identify identical pages, but Gray believes site owners need to start thinking more about structure. Make it "naturally crawlable," he writes. He reminds us that "tools like sitemaps and canonical tags should supplement, but never replace or …

Analytics tools, reports, forecasting tools, and campaign tune-up to analyze and generate a proposal are Kastel Waserman's picks for the essential Yahoo tools that marketers should have in their strategy toolbox. For instance, the reporting tool lets marketers compare ad, landing page and keyword performance. Waserman explains it can help identify trends you might want to repeat. The app lets marketers set parameters, so it runs, saves and emails the report automatically.

If you're sitting there scratching your head wondering about the best use for Twitter, Tessa Wegert serves up details on a couple of success stories. I'm the first to admit that I didn't get Twitter at first, but the post provides details on campaigns for @Zappos and @WholeFoods to aid in the discovery. Wegart writes about the CEO who brings consumers into his life: Zappos' CEO Tony Hsieh, who shares intimate moment with Twitter followers. If "not for his occasional talk of celebrity-filled parties and television appearances, you'd think he was an average guy," she writes. And …

There's been much ado across the SEO blogosphere about Google changing algorithms to give big brands a boost. "While Google has made statements regarding the recent so-called 'brand bias' algorithm update, the fact remains we're unsure of what it is," David Harry told OnlineMediaDaily. While some people in the search marketing world have donned their tin-foil hats, it isn't algorithmically feasible to target brands, he said. What we see is related to "Web site authority (trust) and is triggered in a limited set of query types." Harry writes in his blog post: "My bitch, (as always) is …

While Jessica Bowman believes not everyone has the aptitude to become a search engine optimization (SEO) expert, she tells us how someone lacking in the experience and the skills can get the job done. Bowman believes large companies have the most opportunities to deploy a successful SEO strategy, but typically have the most headaches trying to implement it. Among her recommendations: "You document the process to the Nth degree so that anyone can do it, and tell them how long it would take"; using an outside search expert for limited back-up. It's no secret tight budgets have forced more companies …

Big brands appear to be ranking higher in search engine results on Google. Once again, this topic ignites the debate on whether Google has changed its algorithms to give larger brands an advantage over the little guys, according to ArcherSEM.com. Aaron Wall also recently hashed out the debate at SEOBook.com. Some theorize that major brands'relevancy targeting has improved. "One of the most obvious apparent shifts with this algorithm update will be an emphasis in search saturation and off page branding [that's] possibly measured through Google's PPC engine AdWords with specific connections to their audio and TV ads," …

Online marketers who need help with turning Web site viewers into purchasers might want to take a look at Aaron Wall's interview with Ben and Karl from Conversion Rate Experts. Conversion Rate Experts helped Wall grow the conversion rate on his site by 124%. The interview contains tips on getting to know your customers better, keeping messages on your Web consistent, correcting the target audience after you have found you have missed the mark, finding the pages on the site that bring in the most conversions, and improving the pages or parts of the Web site that don't …

Repetitive keyword targeting, splitting efforts across many domains, reciprocal linking, keyword stuffing, and avoiding XML sitemaps are some of the 12 mistakes that SEO newcomers make, according to Rand Fishkin. Hecan see the "struggles and misconceptions that affect entrants" into the field. For instance, of No. 9 on the list, ignoring non-Google search sngines, he writes, "Why limit yourself to Google!? Just because they're the market leader doesn't mean that another 15-20% of search traffic from Yahoo!, MSN & Ask isn't worthwhile. Most people salivate at boosting SEO 15-20% but continue to ignore the other engines. As a …

Adding social features on your Web site could help you gain higher returns from AdWords campaigns. "When you pay for people to click on your ad, you probably want them to spend time on your site and hopefully return to your site," writes Christian Yee. "One way to make your advertising dollar go further by keeping visitors on your site is to add social features with Google Friend Connect." Pasting a few snippets of code on your Web site lets you add comments, ratings, and friend invitations from gadgets created by Google and the OpenSocial developer community. …

Display URL basics, trademark and editorial concerns, quality scores, and answers to questions about whether you might need the "www" in the URL string are some of the topics Brad Geddes covers in this post. "The display URL is also a prime candidate for ad testing," he writes. "A good display URL can increase your click through rate, increase your conversion rate, and improve your quality score which in turn, causes your ad to show higher in the search results or lets you pay less for your current clicks." Geddes explains how the URL can become a quality …