An area of Google Analytics which is sometimes overlooked is a tool called “Visualize”. This is accessible when you drill down in keyword data for specific areas, an example of this would be traffic sources > Google (organic). Once you see the keyword information with volumes you’ll notice a “visualise” button appear at the top of the screen in the grey boarder, see screen grab below:

Once in the area you’re presented with what appears to be a graph that plays like a video illustrating various metrics over time. This is great for comparing progress of specific keywords and goals over time. I’ve taken some additional screen grabs below:

What you’ll notice about is that you can “link to chart” (bravo Google) which you can send to other users who share the same profiles to illustrate results. Ive also included another shot which illustrates the metrics that can be included:

Although content, on page and on site SEO aspects are all essential for a successful online marketing campaign however it’s the link building where people and businesses can sometimes come up short. It’s still one of the areas where I continue to see people promote and sell techniques which are not only a waste of time and money but they may harm website rankings and performance.

Until last year Google had recommended that one of the best ways to start building links to any website was through directories, examples such as DMOZ and the Yahoo directory had been listed on Google’s SEO page . The removal of this immediately started the debate based around whether or not SEO companies should continue to use them and if so are they considered to be “paid links” or not?

In my experience building links through directories is still one of the most important steps to take once a new website has been built. Creating these initial links not only helps build up link equity relatively quickly but it also helps new content get indexed faster – which is essential for any new launching business.

There’s a few tips to use regarding directories that will help you in building directory links:

1. Look for the right categories, make sure you choose a relevant section in the directory for your website, a directory page with good relevant links is a better one than a page full of random websites
2. Submitting your website to new directories may not be immediately beneficial to your SEO campaign and you’ll hear a lot of people say there’s no value in doing this. Out of 100 new directory submissions you may get 3-6 of those actually link build themselves by which creating value. This kind of technique is only beneficial after a long period of time, like 12 months plus.
3. Build links in directories that have a TLD local to your market, for the UK directories focused/based in the UK (.co.uk) will send more value than your standard domain.

This is not only an effective way to gain some good rankings for medium to long tailed keywords but this kind of technique provides a good starting point for any successful link building campaign.

In February last year I created a list of 25 websites every SEO should know, I must admit the basis of that blog post was intended as link bait which did happen to deliver. However I did also receive a lot of negative comments regarding what I had included, looking back on the list I can now see why.

Anyway, moving forward, I have created a new list of websites that every SEO should know or at the very least is aware of.

1. http://www.seomoz.org – seomoz have not held back over the last year and 9 months, most notably the addition of Linkscape and Rand’s constant travelling have done nothing but push this company to the top of the industry.

2. http://www.linkdiagnosis.com – this website has also come a long way since I first started using it back in early 08, this link analysis tool is actually quite accurate although the results are only taken from Yahoo, link building can be very effective using this site

3. http://www.twitter.com – Twitter was a must in my previous list and it’s a must now. Any budding SEOs can learn a lot from following some of the leaders in the industry and seasoned SEOs can get a lot of good stories aggregated straight to your twitter home with absolutely no effort.

4. http://www.wolf-howl.com – A search blog with a different stance from many other industry leaders, not always agreeing with Google tactics and methods Michael Gray provides a good contrast in perspective and a sometimes light hearted Friday afternoon read.

5. http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com – The official Google webmasters blog, there’s always a lot of activity happening over at the big G, it pays to keep on top of developments.

6. http://www.huomah.com/dojo – I can’t stress enough how good this website is, recently voted as number 1 for the “best paid subscription SEM community” by readers at Top Rank Blog. I’ve spoken to Dave (the ninja boss) many times and the amount of SEO he knows is scary!

7. http://www.sphinn.com – Sphinn is the equivalent to Digg for anything search related, the community has continued to grow over the last few years and although some recent technical decisions have caused some negative chatter – it still feels ace.

8. http://www.seobook.com – Aaron Wall has been in this business a long time and SEO Book provides great resources for SEOs around the world, I especially like the tool “Rank Checker” for snapshot views into ranking performance.

9. http://raven-seo-tools.com – The Raven site provides excellent SEO tools in the form of benchmarking, I used the site in it’s early days and it’s continued to get better and better – solid SEO blog too.

10. http://www.seo-browser.com – It’s important to know how search engines view your website, using SEO Browser can easy display what’s working and what’s not, very useful for performing site audits.

11. http://www.youtube.com/user/GoogleWebmasterHelp – A lot of good SEO questions have been answered by Matt Cutts and co through the video format on YouTube, great watching, even if you just want to find out what T-shirt colour Matt wears.

12. http://www.avivadirectory.com/strongest-directories – Link building from authority based directories does still hold SEO value – fact. Aviva Directory created this list a while a go but many listings are still valuable, decent bookmark to have.

13. http://www.google.com/insights/search – Alas another Google link but extremely important for identifying keyword opportunities on generic and local based levels, although take a pinch of salt with the data provided.

14. http://searchengineland.com – one of the most important search blogs online with great insights and in depth discoveries, it would be rude not to include these boys.

15. http://www.hobo-web.co.uk/seo-blog – This website has grown in authority and reputation over the last few years with much deserves. Constantly providing good SEO blog posts, free e-books and valuable insights, you’d be crazy not to be subscribed to this blog.

16. http://www.seounique.com/blog – I felt the need to add my blog on the list because I do run tests which may provide insights, I’m by no means like the others on this list but I’d appreciate the signup to my feed!

17. http://www.seroundtable.com – Great site for breaking SEO news stories or developments within the industry, plus they have great resources and a forum

18. http://www.bruceclay.com/blog – Solid SEO advice and one to keep on top of.

19. http://www.reelseo.com – Video SEO is something that’s been “around” for a while but never implemented to the full potential. Learn how to maximise this at this great site.

20. http://www.mybloglog.com – Essential for bloggers and online community builders.

21. http://technorati.com – I don’t think I need to explain why you should be aware of this site, news is information, knowledge is power.

22. http://econsultancy.com – An absolute must for any internet marketer. Community content, breaking stories, industry insights and a gazillion more things related to SEO.

23. http://www.seodesignsolutions.com/blog/ – I’ve been in contact with Jeffery for a long time and his blog has never stopped producing quality SEO insights, theories and discoveries over the last 20 months, I suggest those of you who aren’t signed up do so!

24. http://www.google.com/analytics – This is quite an obvious one really, analytics packages are the backbone to any good online marketing campaign as they show the results and RIO for campaigns. The positives include extended insights and functions, landscape benchmarking, in depth data breakdown and its free!

25. http://socialmention.com/ – Brands are becoming more important in natural search and from social aspects, this website helps you monitor brand mentions online through various channels, best thing about this site – it’s free, unlike competitors.