Social Media Marketing Budgets 2016: 5 Reasons Instagram Matters, Big Time - #infographic

Did you know that Instagram, which already has a massive global user base (400 Million monthly active users), was the fastest growing social media site of 2015.

Instagram may represent the biggest marketing opportunity for businesses in 2016. Why? Here's an infographic illustrating 5 reasons why the social network will matter than ever next year (and beyond).

Study: 23% Of Internet Users Used GooglePlus In Past Month - #infographic

Nearly 1 in 4 of web users (aged 16 - 64) have used Google+ within the past month, according to new research from Global Web Index.

GWI also found that by region, G+'s usage rates peak at 32 percent in Latin America and 29 percent in MENA, with North America notably behind at just 16 percent.

Google’s Off Page Ranking Factors: Are They Fact Or Myth? - #infographic

If you’re in a competitive industry and trying to achieve SEO success simply optimising your website for a set of keywords may not be enough. Google’s algorithms also use a number of off page factors to decide which sites should rank above others.

It has long been known that the number of relevant and authoritative domains linking to you are the major factor that boosts your websites external reputation, but there has been much conjecture about the effects of other external factors such as social signals and link building schemes.

What should you believe and what should you ignore?

Unfortunately Google doesn’t disclose the full algorithm they use but they have made a number of statements on their own blog and through social media comments that have enabled the SEO industry to form some kind of educated guess as to what helps and what doesn’t.

Northcutt have collated multiple sources of data into one huge study (which you can view here) and the guys at Red Website Design have summarised their information in the infographic below.

In short, as Google have said many times, create great content that people will naturally want to link to and avoid paid link schemes like the plague.

The Season Of ‘Graming: An Analysis Of Product & Visual Trends On Instagram - #infographic

With a community of 400 million, Instagram is the place on mobile where digital marketers go to tell inspiring visual stories that drive business results, especially during the holidays.

This infographic from Curalate illuminate some of the biggest products and visual trends of the season - and what it means for your.

Google’s On Page Ranking Factors: Are They Fact Or Myth? - #Infographic

If you’re a website owner one of your primary goals will be to optimise your site to rank higher on Google and increase organic traffic.

When it comes to optimising your website content and other on page factors it’s important to not only understand what can positively affect your rankings, but also what can harm them.

On one hand, not optimising your site enough will mean Google won’t see you as relevant, whereas over optimisation will more than likely lead to Google marking your site down. For real search engine success you need to achieve a delicate balance.

This isn’t easy when you consider there are a reported 200+ ranking factors built within Google’s algorithms. The big question is which of those do we have cast iron evidence to support, and which are outright myths?

Northcutt have recently published some detailed findings which argue the case for each. They’ve labelled them on a sliding scale with those that have been confirmed by Google as having an effect ranked as “Concrete” and those with no evidence at all ranked as “Myth”.

You can either take a read of the extensive work directly on the Northcutt website here, or you can view an easier to follow summary in this infographic from Red Website Design.

Build Your Business With Google+ Communities - #infographic

According to Statista.com, Google+ has over 2.5 billion users worldwide, 300 million of which are active as of August 2015.

This network specializes in displaying relevant content to people with similar interests, bringing them together in one place.

Not only is this network optimized for better search results, it also showcases innovative ads that target specific users according to their needs and preferences.

One of Google Plus’s special features, Google+ Communities, lets people share and discuss their common passions publicly and privately, allowing people to expand their connections.

Some business professionals consider this an avenue to interact with their customers in order to optimize their brands.

This infographic from SlideGenius.com shows you how Google+ communities’ effectiveness influences both startups and established businesses, how this social platform encourages customer interactions, and to start building your brand with it.

21 Inbound Marketing Strategies To Quickly Grow Any Business - #infographic

“Inbound marketing covers every stage of the buying process from stranger to brand advocates.

It empowers business to attract, covert, close and delight customers by being in the right place, at the right time.

When used correctly, inbound marketing is one of the most effective ways to grow your business in a digital world.”

This infographic from eliv8group sheds some light on how to accelerate business growth with inbound marketing.

5 Tips To Become The Innovator Of Your Industry

Regardless of what type of industry you're in, more than likely, you've already noticed the advancing competition. Although more and more businesses are trying to innovate and expand their customer base, there are things you can do to stand out from the crowd and establish you and your business as an industry leader.

Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Imgur, Instagram or Pinterest? Which Social Media Sites Should Your Company Be On - #infographic

“A hotel should be on Instagram, but a bank doesn’t necessarily need to be. How should a company decide which social media sites it can benefit from, and which are a waste of time?

Figuring out which social media networks deserve your brand's time and energy can be tough, especially since it seems like a new network arrives every month. There are many options, and social media accounts are often started without much forethought to who will run them or what a brand wants to say. Most importantly, you need to ensure you're reaching the best audience for your brand and using resources wisely.”

Here's an infographic from Salesforce delineating which social media sites should your business be on.