Search Engine Land is one of the digital marketing industry’s leading authorities and one of the most popular websites in the sector. Whether you are looking for information related to search, social, PPC, content marketing, local SEO, or anything related to digital, you can always find a great resource on the website. Search Engine Land is comprised of a selection of news, expert opinion, and advice, and something fresh and informative can always be found on a daily basis.

We’ve been following Search Engine Land closely throughout the year, even featuring some of their articles in our blogs of the week feature, and have come up with what we think are the 10, in no particular order, most important posts from the last 12 months.

1.Google: SEO Problems, Solutions & Wishlists

This guest post reaches out to the frustrations many people feel when they are trying to optimise their website. It looks at how Google both helps and hinders SEO activities and is controversial to say the least. In many ways it is everything you’d want from a blog post related to SEO, although it does concede that we all need to be sticking to the rules if we’re to enjoy success in the long term.

2.No Clear Evidence That Google+ Shares Drive Ranking

This article was interesting as it presented some excellent research related to whether shares through Google+ had an impact on search engine rankings. What made this notable was that the author and Google’s Matt Cutts had previously had a disagreement relating to the effectiveness of Google+ shares, although only one month prior Cutts had said himself that Google +1s do not lead to a higher ranking.

Irrespective of confusion around who said what and who is right, the Search Engine Land article provides a useful insight into how Google+ – and by association social media in general – can be used within SEO.

3.Local Search Marketers Second Guess Google’s Algorithm

We all know there is no point in trying to be one-step ahead of Google when it comes to algorithm factors, but that doesn’t mean there is no fun in trying to work out what Google values more. That is exactly what happened here, however, with the post serving as a gateway to the bigger piece of research where some of the best minds connected with local SEO put forward their ideas and opinions about what drives local search rankings.

4.Big Companies Lacking Mobile Presence

Anyone who enjoys keeping up with the latest digital marketing trends, especially if they are a small business owner who struggles to keep up with what they should be doing, will be pleased to learn that only a very small percentage of larger companies are actually following trends themselves. Do they suffer from the same lack of time, or have they simply become lazy or complacent?

Read the article now, and take heart from the fact that if you aren’t as up to speed with digital marketing as you could be, you’re not the only one.

5.Google Panda Rolls Out Over 10 Days

Despite Google stating back in March 2013 that they would no longer publicise when Panda updates were rolling out, they have been surprisingly transparent and helpful with the information they have continued to provide. This article looks back to only a few weeks after Google’s announcement of “no more announcements,” where Matt Cutts openly told a forum of SEO experts that Google Panda updates roll out over 10 days, which is where there is often an old-school “Google Dance” taking place during the month. He also adds that Google Panda updates most months.

6.The Future of SEO in a Socially Driven World

If you have worked in the digital marketing industry for any length of time, you’ll be familiar with the regular talk of “SEO is dead,” “SEO and social media are now the same thing,” “social is the new search,” and various other quotes and sound bites that often find their way into article or blog titles.

This post tackles all of those issues as well as looking at the wider future of both SEO and social media, raising a number of interesting points and ideas.

7.When Google gets it wrong

Google aren’t perfect, and while they are usually open enough to admit that, it is often heartening for others when they can see evidence of this for themselves. This happened during early 2013 when Danny Sullivan did a small piece of research into what happens when Google present their own page title tag as an alternative to the one input by the webmaster. Unfortunately, there have been no posts yet that look at when they get meta descriptions wrong; maybe it should be something in our own editorial calendar for 2014!

8.How Common are SEO Problems with Responsive Web Design?

There has been a lot of toing and froing at the end of 2013 regarding responsive web design and the debate around where you stand with SEO when using it, but one of the best articles came in April when most people were simply accepting responsive design as a new trend without questioning the bigger picture too much.

The points raised in the blog, along with counterpoints raised in the comments at the foot of the page, are the ones that have continued to fuel debate throughout the rest of this year, and the fact that it was published on April 1st might have even inspired some of the comments. Will 2014 be any different in that regard?

A similar post, also featured on Search Engine Land, can be read here.

9. Will (Not Provided) Keywords Ever Reach 100% in Analytics?

This is a great post that was written in January 2013, and considering how the (not provided) landscape has dramatically shifted in the latter half of the year, it now stands as a brilliant reminder of how quickly things can change in the digital marketing industry.

10. Google PageRank Finally Updates

SEO agencies and commentators – including ourselves – have assumed for much of 2013 that PageRank was finally dead, with Google’s Matt Cutts also indicating this was the case. However, Cutts has once again fed much of the industry a red herring, and in this post he confirms that PageRank updated in early December.

There is no doubt that Search Engine Land is a great blog to read for all the latest updates and news from the industry, and we’re looking forward to seeing more authoritative pieces from the site into 2014 and beyond.