Not all sites track conversions. Some view this as protecting consumer privacy. Abby discovered this while putting together a monthly report for a client. Some sites on the Google Display Network just don't support conversion tracking. So how does a search marketer accurately track conversions? A Google rep suggested using Google Analysts. Abby tells us how the tool tracks goal conversions from placements that don't allow AdWords conversion tracking.

Kristi Hines takes us through the process of setting up a spreadsheet to monitor keyword research and discovering the best words and phrases to optimize Web sites and maintain relevent topics for content development. She points us to a series of keyword discovery tools, defines match types and provides tips on alternative search suggestions. Depending on the keywords, each search engine will offer different suggestions, Hines writes. Testing will provide insight into the ones that work best.  

Amy Walgenbach gives advice on how to grow an audience in Google+. She tells us about the power of the +1 button to stand out in Google search, how to best use circles and hangouts, and what it means to have a real conversation with real people on the platform. Bringing Google "to the rest of Google," Walgenbach dives into explaining some experimental features such as Direct Connect, and provides a list of companies that have set up pages on the social site.  

Google recently announced the release of an algorithm update called "freshness" that impacts about 35% of searches. It aims to better determine from where to pull up-to-date results. Along with Publicis' Mike King, Rand Fishkin explains what this means for marketers and their clients. King tells us in the video that the agency continues to see the change influence "head terms," such as "football." The update aims to prioritize recent and timely results. It is based off the company's Caffeine infrastructure. Fishkin also says it influences time-sensitive queries to rank higher in the search engine results pages.

Miranda Miller explains that a small set of Twitter users may notice news or "top" people at the top of the search results. While it's not fully understood how Twitter calculates the Top People results, it's clear that the results page shows one Twitter account highlighted above the rest, Miller writes. The Top News lacks a "View All" link, but the results shows a bold headline, a short excerpt, a picture pulled from the page, and a link to the article. She also runs thorugh recent updates and changes to Promoted Tweets.

Content expires. In the past, marketers have left some content live on the site for what might seem forever -- but Google's "freshness update" may have put a stop to that practice. Grant Simmons suggests that marketers begin asking themselves about the relevancy of the content, the unique information it offers, and whether consumers believe it's worth sharing. No doubt the change will put a strain on some marketing departments to continually update information. Since searches have different needs, Google's algorithmic update aims to better understand how the content for these searches should change. 

Universal search results from Google are not separate products and services. That's what former CEO Eric Schmidt has been trying to convince the U.S. Senate's antitrust subcommittee to squash the idea that Google favors its products and services in query results, according to Kelly Fiveash. She tells us why Google continues to play down the idea that Google+ is a social network and Facebook rival, which would place the site in a category other than search.   

Bethany Bey tells us about a PPC Hero survey asking for feedback on AdWords bidding options. The site asked readers to name the Ad Words bidding options used. More than 100 people responded. It turns out that 86% use manual bidding options; 37.6%, automatic bidding for clicks, and 33.3%, enhanced cost per click. The survey also points to percentages for Maximum CPA, Target CPA, and CPM focused on impressions. It also provides feedback and percentages on bidding options where marketers have seen the most success.   

A study from marketing agency Webmarketing123 reports that search engine optimization is the top source of leads for business to buseinss and business to consumer marketers. Marketers paricipating in the study said Web site traffic has become their primary means for measuring online campaign success. And while SEO outpaces social media and paid search, more marketers said they plan to increase the percentage of budgets allocated toward social media marketing. 

Google made a "significant improvement" to its ranking algorithm, which affects about 35% of its searches, to make queries more revelent and timely. Google Fellow Amit Singhal explains the new algorithm changes and details the benefits to those searching for information on its engine. While recipes that are a few years old might be useful, searching for the latest 49ers score and getting last year's stats would not be, he writes.