Here's 21 case studies to improve landing pages and achieve better conversion rates. Not all landing pages are the same, but during the past few years Paras Chopra has observed general patterns that yield great results. So, he shares ways to optimize the site's design, call to action, headline and copy, and more.

Consolidate content into fewer pages by minimizing the number of pages to which they link. Words of wisdom to live by, according to Marta Gryszko, who takes these learnings from Rand Fishkin. She believes using this method helps you to reduce the number of pages linked to from 6 to 1, based on the assumption that Google will treat these urls as if they refer to the same page. Gryszko explains this saves link juice, link noise, and provides a positive experience for site visitors.

Here's an age-old question: Hire an agency or take it in-house? Rachel Anderson provides a few tips ensuring a successful relationship when outsourcing SEO tasks. She explains that developing a deeper understanding of how specific practices will impact your business will get better results.

Don't judge a book by its cover, and don't judge a site, a portal, or a service by the number of people using it. Ed Stevenson digs into Facebook and Google to determine when the number of members or searchers on the site play a significant role. He starts with click-through rates and ends by analyzing numbers vs. audience.

In a twist on responding to comments in blogs, Verified Google Places business owners can now respond to reviews written by Google Maps users on the Place Page beginning today. This gives business owners an opportunity to have a conversation with those willing to share their thoughts.

AdWords location extensions now let advertisers feature the business location and phone number on an expandable map ad that appears on mobile Web sites and apps in the Google Display Network. This new ad format is available on mobile devices with full Internet browsers.

Cameron Chapman explains how to double conversion rates within five minutes. How? "There is one part of your website that has more impact on conversion than anything else: the sign-up form," she writes. Chapman believes if marketers ask for too much information too quickly, customers will abandon the site. So she tells us to simplify this process. For example, remove unnecessary fields and ask for less personal information.

Adriana Gardella highlights a case study of one small-business owner's challenges working with PR specialists, email lists, Google AdWords, search engine optimization (SEO), and Twitter and Facebook campaigns. She runs provides lessons learned in hopes of helping others who might think about taking the same path.

Back to school online traffic peaks in early August, so Tina Kelleher provides a checklist to make sure PPC campaigns are in order. She explains methods to attract clicks by updating ads with enticing offers and focusing on deals for shoppers with words like "coupon," "deal," and "Sale" in the ad copy and headline. She also suggests ways to manage bidding strategies and implement geographic targeting.

Getting the maximum benefit from guest bloggers means giving back in time of need. Ann Smarty discusses the best practices and ethics of linking back, and reasons why and why you might not want to sign on guest bloggers. Linking incentives, politics and tools are topics she explores to help marketers sort through the decision.