Online Marketing News: Mobile Dominates Search, Google+ Popularity Contest, The Most Engaging Social Network

YouTube, Google+, LinkedIn Drive More Engaged Referrals Than Facebook, Twitter [STUDY] – Shareaholic looked a six months of data from more than 200,000 websites between September 2013 and February 2014 and discovered that the most engaged referral traffic comes from YouTube, which delivered 3 minutes 47 seconds and 2.99 page views per visitor. AllTwitter

Google Tests Product Images Within Organic Listings – It seems Google is testing showing product images in the organic, free search result listings, for certain e-commerce sites. This was first spotted in a Moz thread for a site that sells ski equipment named evo.com. Search Engine Land

Twitter Ad Revenue Forecast To Exceed $1 Billion In 2014 [Stats] – Twitter’s advertising revenue is on track to exceed $1 billion in 2014, up from $594.9 million last year, with further accelerated income from ads envisaged through 2016, reports eMarketer. AllTwitter

How The Inc. 500 Is Using Social Media – Virtually all – 95% – of the 2013 Inc. 500 companies are using at least one major social media tool, according to the latest study from the Center for Marketing Research at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Marketing Charts

Survey: Search Engines Dominate Mobile Product Research – Last week, Local Corporation released survey results from its latest round of consumer mobile shopping research. The company is promoting a new version of its local-mobile shopping app Havvit. The survey was conducted in March and carried out by the Chicago-based e-tailing group and consisted of nearly 1,300 US smartphone owners. Search Engine Land

80% of Marketers Will Run Cross-Channel Marketing Campaigns in 2014 [Study] – A new Experian report highlights survey data and gives step-by-step tips on how to address some of the most common cross-channel marketing challenges digital marketers face today. ClickZ

Study: Which Social Sites Refer The Most Engaged Visitors? – A recent study from Shareaholic revealed that StumbleUpon was referring more traffic to publishers than a host of other popular social sites (such as YouTube and LinkedIn), combined. Some readers were quick to comment that visitors from StumbleUpon tend to be less engaged and have high bounce rates. Now, a new report from Shareaholic ranking 8 social platforms on their “post-click engagement” confirms those anecdotal accounts, with some other interesting insights to boot. Marketing Charts

LinkedIn Launches New Tools: Measure Your Content Marketing Score and Discover Trending Content – LinkedIn announced the launch two new tools last week to assist businesses in their content marketing efforts: Content Marketing Score and Trending Content. Search Engine Journal

Which Type Of Online Content Most Influences Consumers? – Expert reviews are the most powerful digital content type for influencing consumers’ purchasing decisions, according to a recent Nielsen report commissioned by inPowered. MarketingProfs

Paid Search Spend Rises 8% In Q1, Mobile Shows Signs Of Maturing [Report] – In the first quarter this year, U.S. search advertising spend rose 8 percent when compared both quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) and year-over-year (YoY) according to IgnitionOne’s latest report which looks at the campaigns run through its digital marketing platform. Search Engine Land

Now Google+ Shows You How Many Times Your Profile,  Content Have Been Viewed – For those of you following at home, the social media metrics scorecard has another entry. Google Plus has added the number of views you or your page have generated on the network. Marketing Land

From our Online Marketing Community:

In Evan’s post, Wrap Up: Waves to Remember from Social Media Marketing World 2014, Barbara Mckinney said, “Whether you’re a local hardware store Instagramming different home improvement projects or a major national retailer conducting a Twitter giveaway, the businesses that use social media effectively are building bigger brand followings and driving up their sales.”

On 5 Content Marketing Best Practices Most Businesses Aren’t Doing, but Should! #SMMW14, Ryan Biddulph commented that “Thinking through the outcome Evan helps you build logical, actionable steps to reach your goals. It works backwards-forwards. See the end and the means to the end find you. We’re like magnets to success when we see successful outcomes ;)”

And Krista Dial shared her thoughts on 10 New Media Trends Shaping the Lives of Modern Consumers – Keynote with Randi Zuckerberg #CZLNY. “Lots of great info to digest here! I particularly agree with #1 and #10. With all of the online media brands can leverage, there’s no excuse to not be engaging with your customers or future customers. Regarding unplugging…I do the very same thing on Sundays. So important to have that consistent digital detox! Thanks for the insight, Lee!”

What were the top online and digital marketing news stories for you this week?

Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!