The April 2012 issue of Website Magazine is now available to our professional-level subscribers. Check out this issue's list of the articles or log in to review the digital edition. The print edition will be arriving early this week!

Inside the Online World

(April 2012 Editors Letter)

The practice of search engine optimization has changed, and, for many, it has not been an easy transition. Today’s masters of SEO are not just skilled at content creation or site architecture, nor are they exclusively reliant on their abilities to manipulate meta data. Increasingly, the best in the business are those SEOs that have mastered the art of peoplepowered optimization.

Bear in mind that a whole host of changes has occurred over the years, sending search engine optimization professionals into something of a tizzy each time. The latest round, and arguably one of the most significant to the status quo of search, is the recent addition of and reliance on social media. While the introduction of link-based citations and exposure to more universal search elements into the results pages on popular search engines forced SEOs to shift their definitions of marketing and what content actually was, nothing stands to change the face of our Web-based businesses more than the intersection of search and social.

If there is one standby, however; one factor that those responsible for SEO must master today, it is the relationships you have with your audience, your community, your suppliers, your media and more. Relationships are what power the SERPs today — and the enterprises that understand this fundamental shift and assign the appropriate level of investment to it are the ones that will win in the end.

This issue of Website Magazine also features several other useful articles on a wide range of topics such as demographics and daily deals, social commerce platforms, learning management systems, cost-per-click ad copy testing, email marketing, cloud hosting and domain name reselling.

There’s a lot to get through in this issue, so get started right away. And remember that as a professional-level subscriber, this edition is also available in digital flipbook format as well as on the iPad. Enjoy this issue and share your stories of ’Net success with our editors and the Website Magazine community online at www.websitemagazine.com.

Best Web Wishes,
Pete Prestipino
Editor-in-Chief
Website Magazine