Steelhouse published the results to a survey that looks at what consumers will buy online in 2012. Aside from free shipping and discounts, consumers will search and buy online clothing, household goods, electronics, books, and more. The survey gives us a breakdown of the results in percentages and provides insights into mobile shopping as well.

The majority of individuals at tech companies who are profiting from production have lobbied for Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), but David Angotti tells us the largest in the world are opposed to the new piece of legislation. In fact, 87% of the Wikipedia users polled sided with Jimmy Wales’ "Internet blackout" idea. Angotti explains the nuances of the movement, as well as the support offered up by Google, Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo, LinkedIn, and several other tech giants for the Online Protection and Enforcement of Digital Trade (OPEN) Act.

Rob Boyd writes about the biggest mistake paid-search experts can make. Sometimes it's not what experts should do, but rather what they shouldn't, he tells us. Do test -- and don't forget the nuances, he suggests, because by not thinking through the potential outcome of changes, search experts run the risk of "heading down the rabbit hole." Boyd offers up advice for keeping projects in check.

Tapping groups, traffic and leads in LinkedIn may seem like an arduous job, but Michael Alexis shows us proven strategies by Lewis Howes to land that great contract and get the big bucks. That's according to Alexis. He points to the "power" of groups -- which many don't use, but the popular ones have tens or hundreds of thousands of members. It's more useful than Google+ or Facebook because the members are qualified, he writes. The groups will lead to a strategy or series of webinars, which Alexis explains how to set up.

Rand Fishkin gets into the intricacies around anchor text. He covers some lesser-known aspects of anchor text that even more advanced SEO experts could use. The anchor text and keyword become a strong signal to search engines to the importance of the content. Fishkin explains fluctuating anchor text, and tells us how, when done correctly, can support rankings in engines.

Graham Charlton asks the experts to describe the most significant trends in Web analytics last year. Last year, Google Analytics received many updates, and EU Privacy law became complicated. Experts Brian Clifton, Matt Clarke, and Dan Barker identify and analyze issues that marketers should anticipate during the next 12 months.

Aligning goals should become the first step to managing Web sites and lowering the bounce rate on pages to increase conversion rates. That's according to Neil Patel, who provides an understanding of heat maps, testing, the five-second rule, calls to action, finding sources, and more. Lessons learned, he writes, can improve conversion rates.

Microsoft has created the Bing Casting Call series, a video platform where startups can share and learn from one another. The company chose seven applicants. Each had less than a week to prepare three video scripts to submit to the judges. The videos released this week describe in three minutes what the creators learned when developing the startup, providing advice for others on everything from hiring employees to securing funding.

Aaron Wall gives us a look at an infographic that analyzes the love-hate relationship between the search engine and affliliate marketers. He breaks the infographic into Love and Hate categories, describing things such as an investment by Google in Viglink, an affiliate program that pays site owners for generating targeted traffic to merchant sites. And for large companies like Amazon, Google runs product search affiliate ads, according to Wall. 

The tech world anticipates a Google tablet -- but as for when it will arrive, no Googlers will say. DigiTimes reports that Google's tablet -- expected to take on the Apple iPad and Amazon Fire -- will arrive between March and April. Some wonder why Google needs a tablet because the Kindle Fire is built on custom versions of Google's Android operating system. But then why would the company need its own a mobile smartphone if the OS runs on a variety of phones?