Web pages with a high converting rate require careful planning. Tim Ash lays out some principals on the do's and don'ts of Web-page design. This can become as important as optimizing the title tags on a page. For example, think twice before introducing horizontal rules or a separator into your design, as the lines can disrupt how the eyes flow from the top of the page to the bottom. Ash calls these lines "stop signs."

Google continues on an acquisition binge -- but in terms of patents rather than companies. Last week, the company bought 1,000 patents from IBM. Now Bill Slawski reports adding International Tech Broadcaster, Exbiblio, Widevine, Myriad Group, Verizon, and a number of memory-chip related patents from Metaram and Successes.com, among others. Slawski describes the purpose of these patents and provides analysis on why Google might want them.