Digital marketing insights.

Pop-ups, pop-unders, waiting a few seconds to watch an ad before you can play that video, articles with advertisements mid-stream and email marketing are all interruptive advertising strategies. And, much like that phone call at dinner time, less than welcomed by your prospects.

Although many in the SEO and online marketing industry like to speak about Google's algorithm as if it were an ancient secret buried beneath a mythical tomb, secrets known only to a chosen few who spend their days meditating in silence, the reality is actually a lot more mundane. Even if we don't know exactly what Google wants from a website, we've had a pretty good idea for several years about what our visitors want.

Summer's here and people are taking to the water, whether it's rafting down a slow creek or getting out the waterskis. If you're avoiding the sun by staying in the office, there's a take-away we marketers can learn from the people splashing around at the lake: there are the skimmers, and there are divers.

Marketing can be a world of adventure and discovery all its own, so there's no surprise that we could pick up a trick or two from one of the most popular video game franchises of the past 25 years. What can Legend of Zelda teach you about being a better marketer?

The best marketing removes barriers. Are you focusing on doing the same thing for your business and networking practices?

Let's start with a confession: I've been a fan of Starbucks coffee for years. You might even call me an addict. Given my minor obsession with steamed milk and espresso beans, you probably wouldn't be surprised to know that I've been a member of the Starbucks Gold Card program for a long time. And I've been earning "stars" with each purchase – which I redeem for free beverages later – motivated me to keep buying on a regular basis.

It's not really a secret that the largely anonymous nature of the Internet brings out the very worst in some people. This isn't just true of chat rooms, social media, and multiplayer networks, though – the "I can get away with pretty well anything" frame of mind even affects social personalities and business marketers.

Recently, I've taken a few of my social connections out to the virtual woodshed for posting (or from my perspective, over-posting) what I consider near meaningless or empty, low value content. Grumpy cats, goats, lions, famous quotes and other people's pictures, to name just a few: do they have any real significance beyond some very brief entertainment value?

An interesting thing happens when technology allows for entirely new industries to be born. Innovation and creativity often work together in new and exciting ways, while at the same time accepted practices and philosophies are replicated or transferred from older business models.

Following are four summaries of well-shared SocialMediaToday.com posts, along with links to each article...

In an effort to spread Kayak's message of peace, love, and creating really awesome lead generation business websites, we occasionally contribute as regular columnists to other noteworthy blogs.

It can be tough for marketers to balance the need for doing with the necessity of thinking and planning, which is why so many companies have great strategies that they never really get around to executing.

A lot of behaviour theory is built on the assumption that we’ve learned all of the most important things as children. This acceptance of a pre-programmed way of thinking can cause us to make and repeat mistakes.