BrightEdge Weekly Search Recap – 12/2

1. “Minor” Google Panda Update On November 18th

Google tweeted that they have pushed out a minor update to the Google Panda algorithm this past Friday afternoon.The update impacts less than one-percent of searches, which is why Google labelled this a “minor” update.

2. 10 New Google Analytics Features You Need to Start Using

Over the past eight months, Google has steadily released one revolutionary new feature after another. On March 17, the company announced a new version of Google Analytics. Up until this point, users could decide whether they preferred to stick with the old interface or switch to the new one. However, Google recently announced that the old version of GA will be turned off in January 2012.

3. 10 Stats to Justify SEO

Have you seen the potential of SEO but are struggling to convince your boss or colleagues? You are not alone. SEO can often be viewed as a difficult, techy oddity, and not something that every company needs. Small-scale businesses often think they won’t benefit from spending money on online marketing.

4. SEO Salary Guide For Top 20 U.S. Markets [INFOGRAPHIC]

ONWARDsearch released and infographic yesterday called SEO Salary Guide: For Top 20 U.S. Markets that shows you which U.S. markets offer the highest number of SEO-related jobs and what the salary ranges for those markets are.

5. Beyond SEO: Retaining the Visitor

During SES Chicago, there was definitely a resounding theme. You have to think more about your visitor than you have in the past. It isn’t always about a throng of visitors. As I’ve worked to create a better and more meaningful user experience for my clients’ site visitors, I noticed that time and time again, my clients keep making simple mistakes that detract from what I call visitor retention.

6. 5 Powerful New Features to Leverage in YouTube Analytics [INFOGRAPHIC]

Yesterday, YouTube replaced Insight with the brand new YouTube Analytics. The new analytics tool, which is more robust than YouTube Insight, will provide detailed data regarding the audience and how that audience interacts with the video.

7. Cyber Monday 2011 Marks Biggest U.S. Online Spending Day in History

Cyber Monday 2011 was the heaviest U.S. online spending day in history, with the holiday season as a whole up 15 percent YoY to $15 billion this season-to-date. Average order values increased 2.6 percent and mobile traffic to retail sites are up 3.9 percent over the biggest online shopping day a year earlier, according to just-released reports from IBM, comScore, PayPal, and others.

8. Top 5 Considerations For International SEO

Considering a global expansion in 2012? Extending your web presence internationally can be challenging, especially without local resources at your disposal. But, with the right preparations it can be done. Understanding the basic principles of International SEO will ready you to enter a new foreign market successfully. Here are five critical considerations to account for prior to embarking on global SEO.

9. Infographic: Black Friday As Seen Through Foursquare Check-Ins

Black Friday is only three days away, and some people are already camping out in front of stores. Judging from Foursquare check-ins from last year in the US, peak shopping will happen at 2pm, Target & Best Buy will be swamped and department stores will be busiest.

10. Google: Parked Domains, Scraper Sites Targeted Among New Search Changes

In what’s now to be a monthly update on search changes, a new Google “Inside Search” blog post today tells us that life is getting tougher for those with parked domains, life may get better for those plagued by scraper sites and those hoping to “push down” negative listings may have a tougher challenge.