My Top Posts of 2011 on SEO, PR and Social Media for Publishers

As another year comes to a close I thought I’d finish off with a roundup of this year’s most popular posts. Original idea!

Nevertheless, here are my top 10 posts of 2011 by pageviews:

1. Which NBA Teams Have Seen the Most Growth on Twitter and Facebook?
2. PRFilter Shows Press Release Buzzword Abuse Still Prevalent
3. Google Expanded Sitelinks: Optimize Opening Text in META Description Tag
4. Is LinkedIn the New Old Boys Network?
5. Editorial SEO Tactics for the Newsroom
6. Beyond Facebook Insights: Useful Facebook Analytics Tools
7. Press Release Optimization Checklist and Tips
8. eHow and Mahalo: How Many Keyword Variations is Too Many?
9. Is Using Facebook Comments Good for Publishers?
10. The Huffington Post’s Kim Kardashian Tag-o-Rama

Also a special mention for a post from 2010 that continues to bring in considerably more pageviews than anything else:

The Most Overused Buzzwords and Marketing Speak in Press Releases

Looking at my 2011 posts, it is interesting that a sports topic got the top slot since that’s not a major focus for me. I used to do team comparison posts with some frequency but I scaled back, mainly because the figures become outdated so quickly (and since social media is more than a numbers game). But several of my sports posts continue to drive traffic so maybe I’ll look for new ways to examine sports and social.

The post on Facebook analytics tools did well considering I just published it last week. Short, simple lists of tools and tips tend to get traction.

I also thought it was interesting that the eHow and Mahalo post was written just a couple weeks before the first Panda update. I guess that was a bit of foreshadowing.

I’m pretty sure the Kim Kardashian post made the list simply because it contains her name and photo. But I was trying to make a real point there, so I’ll take it.

In checking out Google Analytics one thing I like about my top 10 is there were multiple paths to success. For some it was search referrals, for others tweets or LinkedIn shares, and it some cases it was a link or links on other sites. It’s good to see some diversity.

Thank You

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to devote much time to blogging this year. Looking back I only averaged 2-3 posts per month.

The good news behind that is that Define Media Group, which split off from The New York Times Company a year ago, is doing well and there is plenty of client work keeping us busy.

Define is launching a company blog soon and we’ve also arranged to do some articles for Search Engine Land, so it will continue to be a challenge to keep up here. But I’ll give it a whirl.

I enjoy writing this blog, and having a personal outpost has offered a good way for me to connect and network with others in the industry.

For those of you that stop by to read a post, leave a comment or share something via social, I just want to say thanks. It is much appreciated!

Enjoy the holidays and hope you have a great 2012.