In a recent video from Matt Cutts in response to a user-submitted question, he addresses two issue: Algorithm changes and content.

To my surprise, Cutts says Google makes nearly 350-400 changes in a year – nearly once a day! In a recent article from Search Engine Land covering an article by Wired on Google’s Algorithm, they have stated Google makes 550 changes a year… in any case, this means it’s even more important to keep your metadata fresh and up to date with search standards.

As for content being king… it still is, however, Cutts eludes to people actually viewing your website and content hierarchy standards.  This is getting back to the basics – how many inbound links and how many visitors you have will contribute to your organic ranking.  Best practices also says to have landing pages for each product/service/topic, making it easy not only for users to navigate your site and digest content, but equally as important for spiders to efficiently index your entire site frequently.

The bottom line: Use proper site architecture through taxonomy and site map strategy, update your content regularly, keep your meta fresh and utilize and inbound linking strategy with directories, reciprocals and by writing articles for other blogs to use.

Market watch posts will be a series of internet industry effects on small business and tips for maximizing your SMB presence. This week comes from http://twitter.com/jacobpuhl

Google is testing lead capture forms within an Adwords ad. This is only in beta, but could become a major lead generation tool.

Google is requiring some LBL’s to be “re-verified”. This could be caused by several reasons to name a few: 1. A competitor submitted a spam report, prompting reverification. 2. A “customer” clicked the Is this accurate link, prompting reverification. 3. Google is systematically going through it’s questionable LBC accounts with multiple listings

One expert boasts about the value of Wordpress websites for small businesses. Local Biz Bits by Larry Sullivan has alot of good insight – biggest takeaway – Wordpress can help you control your website more and help with your local search marketing.

10 creative ways businesses are using Twitter.

1 in 4 SMB’s spend more money on video in 2010. the networks of choice where people are putting the videos – Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter.

Think SEO before you name a product or page on your website. Link Here.

The importance of various factors in search ranking, show over time. Link Here. We can see the importance of content and social media increasing drastically.

New York Times conducts survey asking consumers if they want their internet actions tracked if it means more discounts and a better surfing experience.  Link Here.  They said no.

Panel talks about the enormous opportunity for YP companies.  Link Here.

Bing launches what some are calling “Visual Search”. Link Here Interesting visual.

Merchant circle is making waves with two new SMB related launches.  Link Here Descriptions from Kelsey Group blog:

Neighbors — not to be confused with Yahoo Neighbors, which also launches today — enables consumers to “follow” local businesses, Twitter style, for the latest promotions, coupons and announcements. Business owners can use the feed to communicate directly with their customer base and share information on deals and other things. Deals, especially, reflect one of MerchantCircle’s strengths, since its merchants use the service to publish thousands of coupons.

Answers is a consumer advice service, similar to ones we’ve seen with Yahoo Answers and vertical sites such as Avvo.com (lawyers) and Trulia (real estate). MerchantCircle’s idea is that small businesses will become more bonded to the service if they regularly communicate with potential customers. It says it has already had excellent response rate in a month of trials.

Mobile is local and local is mobile as the two continue to merge.  AT&T is running ads advertising local apps. Link here. More evidence. Link here.

Pop culture and the internet had a big weekend.  Serena Williams’ US Open outburst flooded Youtube Link Here while Kanye West’s outburst on the VMA’s flooded Twitter. Link Here

The Yellowpages.com app launches upgrades including the ability to watch video and supports for Pay Per Call. Link Here.

Great article on the way mobile is evolving into what some call an ‘augmented reality’.  Link Here.  Here’s an example of what your phone can do. Link Here.

Some companies are paying Facebook users to post ads on the status notifications. Facebook is looking to ban this.  Link Here.

How to optimize your website for phone calls. Link Here.  Basically, include calls to action early, obviously, and often.

Bing continues to gain market share. Link Here.

Important:  a website is “sales” not “marketing”. In other words, a website should drive leads.  Link Here.

Google Earth allows you to search the moon.  Link Here.

Google image search accounts for 6% of all of Google’s traffic.  Link Here.   Best practices for websites include utilizing keywords in the alt tag and image description.

Yahoo’s earnings are down 13% this year. Link Here.

Local Ad Market will be bigger than expected this year.  Link Here.

Yodle signs two new executives from Merrill Lynch and Yahoo.  Link Here.

So what’s the big take away from all this data? First off, $6.8  trillion is spent online globally, and second America stands as the most dominate online presence still, despite the rapid economic. These two factors together say it’s time to start looking online for your dollars in this economic downturn, the money is still out there, it’s just in a new location.

So the next question becomes, if we focus on internet advertising, where do we put it? Well, at 8% of total internet usage, streaming video is a monster that is only getting bigger and bigger everyday. Google is begining to get advertisers on board with its popular video sharing website, Youtube.com, and the success so many businesses are already having with their other advertising programs, AdWords being a great example, it’s obvious Google is trying to get ahead of the curve this time around, so it may be best to keep up to pace with them and try some online video advertising.

It’s important to realize what companies did in the past that worked online because some of those principles are still valuable today. We must remember that this new “Web 2.0″ social networking environment is a natural evolution and not a complete revolution of sound business practices. Hope this info helps!

Google reaches out to local businesses and hosts a Local Business event in San Francisco. Link Here.

Bing is doing well – now bigger than CNN. Link Here.

New research shows up to 14% of all media consumption is done through mobile devices. Link Here. Most people (77%) are consuming mobile and TV at the same time.

The basics of “how to show up on Google’s local map”.  Link Here.

Local Insight in the news. Link Here. The headline:  Local Insight Media Consolidates Under Single Berry Brand

How to spot a social media “snake oil salesman”.  Link Here.