The Best of Thinks (So Far), Summer 2013 Edition

It’s Independence Day weekend here in the US, where we celebrate the birth of the country. And I’m planning to do a little celebrating myself, taking a 4-day holiday (beginning in just a few hours, actually). So, I thought you’d enjoy the long weekend curled up with some of The Best of Thinks (So Far), highlighting the most popular posts on the social, mobile, local web and how they can help you with your digital marketing strategy. Enjoy!

1. Leading off, I’ve got a look at 5 Questions About Landing Page URL’s and its companion piece, What’s The Best URL For Your Business?
2. My guide on How to Build Your Small Business Blog still draws a crowd.
3. A recent edition of the popular Travel Tuesday posts examined 4 Reasons Why Google Metasearch in Maps Matters.
4. Telling your brand story remains crucial to growing your business. Which helps explain the popularity of What Is a “Brand Story” Anyway? and its companion piece, Building Your Brand Story
5. Last year’s round-up of key trends ranked well, including The 13 Most Important Topics For 2013 As Voted By You and 3 Key Trends for 2013.
6. Even though this was first posted way back in 2008, I Heart Zappos – The Best Customer Service Story You’ll Ever Hear remains among the most popular posts here on Thinks.
7. Of course, more recent fare, such as the 4 Fundamental Truths About the Future of E-commerce also does quite well.
8. Another travel-related post looked at Google’s 2012 Traveler “Road to Decision” Presentation.
9. What Happens in an Internet Minute? (Cool Infographic)
10. And we’ll close out this list with A Shocking Fact About Mobile Commerce.

Now, the list was somewhat skewed by the fact that three episodes of Thinks Out Loud, my weekly podcast also made the Top 10. Rather than mixing and matching, though, I thought you’d appreciate a separate list of those. Just the thing for listening to on the beach this weekend (or sitting in traffic on your way to the beach) all summer long. Check ’em out if you get the chance.

1. Episode 17: What’s Wrong With Google’s Enhanced AdWords Campaigns
2. Episode 30: The Rise of AGFAM (Apple, Google, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft) and Everywhere Shopping
3. Episode 28: Say “Hi” to Conversational Search
4. Episode 12: Small Business Podcasting Overview
5. Episode 24: Why Blogging Matters For Your Business

If you’re in the United States, (or even if you’re not), I hope you remain safe, healthy, and happy over the next handful of days. I’ll be back next week with more coverage of the social, local, mobile web and what it means for your digital marketing strategy.

Oh, and don’t forget to register to receive a free copy of my new special report, “Digital Hotel Marketing in a Multiscreen World,” produced in conjunction with Vizergy, here.