The top digital-marketing stories from around the Web.

In This Issue
Fortune 500 companies might lead the business world with multibillion-dollar revenues, but one area they're not doing so hot? Search engine optimization, according to new research highlighted in the MediaPost article "Fortune 500 Companies Fail At SEO." What's more, only one-fourth of their keywords, valued at $3.4 million daily, rank in the top 50 natural search results on leading search engines. Now that's a lot of wasted dollars, no matter how many are in the company coffers. Elsewhere in the search world, Microsoft and Yahoo have received the regulatory A-OK to move forward on a search partnership that could challenge Google; more about that from Search Engine Land.

Until next week,
The Editors of CMO.com

TOP NEWS HEADLINES

Fortune 500 Companies Fail At SEO (MediaPost)
In addition, many of these companies still don't link paid-search keywords to SEO campaigns, although they collectively spend about $3.4 million daily on 97,559 keywords, according to the Conductor Research Q4/2009 Fortune 500 report.

Software Directs Mobile Industry (WSJ.com)
In the mobile world, the race to catch up with Apple and Google is on. At a worldwide industry conference in Barcelona this week, competitors including phone makers and network operators that haven't traditionally specialized in software are rolling out fresh efforts to keep pace.

Yahoo & Microsoft Receive Go Ahead to Implement Search Deal (Search Engine Land)
Under terms of a new search deal, Microsoft will provide Yahoo with the same search result listings available through Bing, and Yahoo will innovate around those listings by integrating rich content, enhanced listings with conveniently organized information about key topics, and tools to tailor the experience for Yahoo users.

Impulse Buying is Alive and Well (Adweek)
Sixty percent of female respondents say they've bought something on impulse in the past year.

How Should Marketers Address Concerns About Ad Targeting? (eMarketer)
More clarity between advertisers and consumers is needed, according to a new eMarketer report, "Audience Ad Targeting: Data and Privacy Issues."

Google Buzz Monitoring Added to Viral Heat's Analytics Platform (Mashable)
Social analytics firm Viralheat may be first to market with Google Buzz monitoring. For a quick look at the service’s take on Google Buzz monitoring, watch this video.

Passing the Buck, With a Stick-on Ad (Media Life)
Drug chain CVS put two-tiered stickers on thousands of $1 bills and distributed them to merchants in the Bay Area, who gave them out to customers as change.

Which Brand Had the Highest "Blended Media Score" at the Super Bowl? (Nielsenwire)
The top performers managed to perform well in both earned media (buzz volume, sentiment, increased engagement through social media channels) and paid media (recall, likeability, audience/reach).

Survey: 40 Percent in U.S. Have No Broadband (CNET)
In addition, 30 percent said they have no Internet access at all, according to a study sponsored by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and conducted by the Census Bureau.

Verizon Opens its Network to Skype Calling Service (WSJ.com)
Verizon Wireless, which has 91 million subscribers, hopes its new Skype application will spur adoption of smartphones with pricier voice and data service plans.

INSIDE CMO.COM

SPECIAL REPORT: Marketing Outlook 2010, Part 2 (CMO.com)
In this second installment of the recent SoDA Survey, "2010: Digital Marketing Outlook," industry pros examine evolving digital platforms, such as ultraportables and augmented reality, and their second-by-second impact on brand engagement.

BLOG: Mustache Marketing (AdAge.com)
In summer 2006, a group of marketing executives from St. Louis-based Elasticity decided to make the mustache popular again, all in the name of a good cause. It turned out to be a lesson in social marketing strategies, pre-Facebook.

INTERVIEW: P&G Aims For The Gold (Forbes.com)
P&G's chief marketing officer, Marc Pritchard, a former high-school gymnast who loves adrenaline-charged flips, reveals his $10 million strategy for taking home the ad-campaign gold during the Olympic Games in Vancouver.

EVENT: Omniture Summit 2010
March 2-5, 2010, Salt Lake City: Join more than 2,000 online marketing and Web analytics professionals for three intense days of thought leadership about digital media and Web analytics. This annual summit will include keynotes from industry luminaries, hands-on training sessions and labs, more than 40 breakout sessions, best practices and case studies, and the opportunity to network with your peers.