In the second quarter of 2011, Facebook’s advertising department offered an interesting incentive to advertisers: If your ad kept people on Facebook, it would cost you 29% less than an ad that sent users out to another website. For the fourth quarter of 2011, Facebook offered the same deal and pushed thenumber up to 45% off. As a social network, Facebook does as much as possible to keep you on the site. Will it eventually become your one true social network?

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According to a the TBG report, some brands are responding to the lowered ad costs by building a presence within Facebook. Boston-based CraveLabs, whose tagline is “rethinking local advertising,” focuses on getting customers to a business’ Facebook page. “Why make your customers that find you on Facebook have to search for your website to find out what your best dishes are?” says CraveLabs, next to an example of why users should visit a restaurant’s Facebook page instead of the actual website. A targeted ad that drives users to the restaurant’s Facebook page would cost nearly 50% less than an ad that sent users out to the restaurant’s website.

At the same time, Facebook ads that send users out to a website are getting more expensive. The report notes the average cost per click (CPC) has increased 10% versus other countries that only saw a 1% increase. The cost per thousand impressions (CPM) rates have increased by 8%, on average.

The most clicked-through categories for Facebook ads are food & drink and beauty & fitness are the top categories for most-clicked through, trailed only by retail, home & garden and not for profit.

At the end of last year, Facebook ramped up its advertising strategy. Every user has access to their own personalized Facebook adboard, which shows recently viewed ads, and the current selection of sponsored stories.

In the fight for the social Web, some say Google’s latest addition of “Search, plus Your World” threatens Facebook. But if Facebook can steal eyeballs and clicks that would have normally gone to websites, will it win the battle of the social Web?

Discuss

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Jon Mitchell was as usual out in front of this issue, Tweeting yesterday about why he is sticking with his ordinary iPhone 4. “Apple rewarded those who adopted the iPhone 4 early. Those users will be able to happily upgrade to the eventual iPhone 5. That’s certainly what I plan to do. The iPhone 4 is one of my favorite computers I’ve ever owned. I feel no need to upgrade. I think it’s worth pointing out that this phone now costs just $99, now that the 4S covers the high end. For a phone this excellent, a $99 price point is crazy. I think the iPhone 4 could be come a ubiquitous smartphone at that price.”

Joe Brockmeier also uses an iPhone 4. “At the moment, I’m iffy on getting an iPhone 4S. The hardware upgrade is nice, but I just got the iPhone 4 a few months ago due to an incident involving losing my 3GS in SEA-TAC. This is not a bad thing, actually. While a lot of people are crying about Apple not releasing a major new phone, the 4S fits into the upgrade cycle for phones much better – every two years, rather than a must-have new phone every year.”

He continues: “While Apple’s phone strategy doesn’t seem to be playing into the media’s strategy of having something “awesome” to write about every few months, it fits much better into the way that the majority of people want to purchase and deal with phones. In particular, the free 3GS is a fantastic move on Apple’s part. It increases the market for iPhones and lets apple recoup on the R&D for the phone over a longer lifespan. Carriers will subsidize that design for an additional year, and presumably they’ll subsidize the design of the 4 and 4S over a longer lifecycle as well. This is pure win for Apple, its shareholders, and users. It’s a pity that most of the tech press is just geared to deride anything that isn’t a new shiny.” Well put, Joe.

Dan Rowinski says, “I actually have two phones on my family plan that are oscillating on 9-month upgrade cycles. So, I am usually up to date with what phones are coming and what I should be expecting. The last update in that cycle was a Motorola Atrix with the next upgrade coming sometime next February. Will it be the iPhone 4S? No. As a natural contrarian I feel obligated to be one of the only ReadWriteWeb staffers to not have an iPhone as my primary device. Part of that is looking ahead at mobile trends such as NFC and LTE and having a professional obligation to be an early adopter of those technologies. The iPhone 4S will not fit that bill.”

Jared Smith, our esteemed webmaster, says “I have an iPhone 4 that is undamaged and still performs extremely well. I also have a contract with another year on it and the improvements in the 4S just aren’t compelling enough to switch up at the full off-contract price. Barring a major development with Android or Windows Phone, though, Apple is almost assured of my money when the 4S’s successor is revealed. (The carrier I choose is an open question still.)” We’ll see if he switches over to Sprint.

Our newest staff member, Alicia Eler, says “Before upgrading to the free Palm Pixi, a practically dead webOS phone that will never change, I had the Android Google Eris HTC. It was wonderful feeling cool with that Android – it was one of the first on the market. I’m not upgrading to the iPhone 4S because I don’t trust the product yet – it hasn’t been perfected.

“After my experience with the super buggy Android, I’d rather use a phone that at least I can rely on as both a phone that can safely dial and receive calls and texts, and a pretty basic, bricklike device that reliably receives email, and can be used as a mobile hotspot. I’m not sure that I really need my phone-type device to do anything more, at the moment. Sorry iPhone, I’m just not ready to commit to you yet.” She also adds, “Aside from these geeky reasons listed above, the real reason I’m not buying the iPhone 4S is actually rather simple: I just can’t afford it right now. So, I’ll have to stay uncool while my friends all upgrade “

Our community manager Robyn Tippins says, “I like my iPhone 4 just fine. I didn’t see anything that made me feel I had to upgrade, so I’ll hold out until the next iteration.”

Jon Paul Titlow says, “As an iPhone 4 owner, I feel the same way about the iPhone 4S as I did about the 3GS when it came out (and I owned a 3G): It’s an awesome device with a few worthwhile upgrades (especially the camera), but nothing so revolutionary that I can’t just wait until the next iteration comes out. Plus, I feel like less of a sucker if I only spring for every *other* Apple gadget.”

One possible buyer is our managing editor Abraham Hyatt. He says: “I might, but my fiancee definitely will. She has an old school 3G that’s deteriorated to the point where apps like Maps don’t work. Or as she puts it, ‘My 3G BLOWS.’ She didn’t buy the 4 when it came out because of the price, plus she was concerned about how long it would take Apple to work new bugs out of the feature-laden phone. But as time went by, ‘it made sense to wait for the next version.’ I might get one, but only because the battery on my 4 is fading. I like the 4S’ camera and the speed, but if it weren’t for my battery, it wouldn’t be enough to make me upgrade.”

Scott Fulton says “I am a disaffected BlackBerry user. I miss all the things that BlackBerry was going to be: a reliable, secure service on a strong, solid, well-built device. During my BlackBerry years, I appreciated the quality of service. When that went away – and that happened seemingly overnight – I could have switched to iPhone.

“I didn’t because Apple had yet, and has yet still, to build a mobile device that fits my style of work. My business consumes email the way the Twinkies factory consumes sugar. It’s been said I’m so busy communicating with people via email that I have no time left to be social. That, and I need a hard keyboard. On a hard day, I can conduct so much electricity that I short out phones (on some occasions, permanently) so touchscreens are almost pointless. I love the iPhone as a camera, but as a telephone, it fails because the antenna and me do not get along. And I cannot type an email message into it to save my life. Maybe I could complain to Siri, and maybe Siri would console me. Or I could stick with my Droid 2, which may be the Nash Rambler of smartphones, but it gets a signal.”

Me? I have a aging 3G original that is ready for an upgrade, and will mostly likely get the ordinary 4 and not the 4S. Why buck the trend? And given that I will probably be the last person on the staff to upgrade my desktop to Lion, that seems about right too.

Discuss

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Today, instead of playing in the uber-rare Seattle sunshine, I spent the day polishing off the PRO Training seminar schedule and it looks amazing. I’m excited to see these sessions myself (and I rarely sit through presentations). Check it out for yourself below; if you’re inclined and available, we’d love to see you.

Oh, and don’t worry, I’m not cruelly sharing when we’ve already sold out. We still do have some seats left. Dates are Monday & Tuesday August 30th + 31st with the tools training half day Wednesday, September 1st. However, I would strongly urge you to register soon, as we’ve sold out by early August in each of the past 4 years.

Top 5 Ways Our PRO Seminar is Different

1. "Tips" Focused Content
   Many sessions that I attend have discussions and opinions as featured content. Although I think that can be great, our focus is 100% on providing value you can apply back to your sites + campaigns immediately. I’ve talked to every speaker and reviewed every outline – the sessions at our seminar are exclusively focused on making you smarter, faster and better at your job.
2. Single-Track, Deep Dives by Only the Best Speakers
   Rather than panels of 2, 3, 4 or more speakers on an hourlong session, we have only a few sessions each day, enabling us to pick only the most talented, compelling speakers for our event. You can’t pitch to speak at SEOmoz – it’s by invitation only and those invites come because we’ve seen you speak many times and been seriously impressed. There are only 14 speakers in total at the event and every one is an oustanding presenter – we know because we’ve watched them.
3. The Same Incentives for all Participants
   At many events, the real revenue comes from sales of booths, promotional materials or sponsored sessions. SEOmoz has none of these. Our primary goal with the PRO Training isn’t to make money (being fully TAGFEE; this year, we anticipate the seminar to generate less than 4% of our gross with relatively slim margins), but to spread knowledge of SEO in a deep, meaningful way and meet many of our community members in person. We also pay for our speakers’ transportation and hotels so they don’t have the burden of selling to recoup travel costs.
4. Less than 1/2 the Price of Other Events
   With a PRO membership, the event costs just $649. Add in a hotel for 2 nights and a flight from most US locations and it’s still less than a single ticket to many of the larger conferences (e.g. the on-site price for Web 2.0 NYC or SES SF is $1,995).
5. No Vendors, Pitches, Booths or Sales
   There’s no expo hall, no sponsors, no SWAG in a bag, no salespeople seeking to close a deal at lunch, nada. This event is about learning from experts, networking with peers and coming home with phenomenal, actionable information.

The Full PRO Training Schedule

Monday, August 29th

• 9:00am – 9:45am: It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad SERP
  • The expansion of new results types in the search result pages has SEOs asking if traditional rankings are dead. They’re not, but there are a whole lot more opportunities to get SEO traffic. In this session, Rand Fishkin explores the world of real-time, social, news, images, video & expanded listing results with specific recommendations for how to get included, stand out and win clicks.
• 9:45am – 10:30am: How to Win Rankings and Influence Competitive Local/Maps Results
  • As Google Maps and the 3/7/10-pack results have become more competitive, SEOs have been thinking less about the question "what are the local ranking factors?" and more about "how do I beat that guy in the top position?" David Mihm explores the answers with specifics about how to jump to the top of the pack.
• 10:30am – 10:45am: Morning Break
• 10:45am – 11:45am: The Science of Twitter Success
  • What makes some Twitter updates spread across the web while other languish in obscurity? Hubspot’s Dan Zarrella examines the science of tweets, retweets and clicks and provides specific, actionable tactics for how to improve the results marketers derive from promotion of their content on Twitter.
• 11:45am – 12:30pm: Presentation Off: How to Pitch SEO
  • Distilled’s esteemed director, Will Critchlow, has never lost against Rand, but they’ve also never faced off in the US. Watch Rand and Will on SEOmoz’s home turf as they break down how to pitch SEO internally to your team/managers or externally, to a potential client. Specific strategies of how to win the battle for marketing dollars will rule the day. Voting to be determined by a show of hands immediately following the presentations.
• 12:30pm – 1:30pm: Lunch
• 1:30pm – 2:00pm: Earning Direct ROI on Social Media
  • Social media tends to send traffic that clicks once, visits fast and leaves without much engagement. Yet, we know that over time, these branding touchpoints and positive references can lead to awareness, influence and, ultimately, conversion. In this session, SEOmoz’s community manager, Jen Lopez, shows real life examples of how social media can lead directly to conversions. She’ll also cover how to track clicks to and conversations about your site/brand that happen across the web and map these to the metrics that predict web success.
• 2:00pm – 2:45pm: Site Architecture & Best Practices for Big Site SEO
  • Large sites frequently struggle against indexation, navigation and organization issues. In this session, Marshall Simmonds, chief search strategist for the NYTimes, About.com, and many other large content-based sites will present solutions for effectively analyzing the problems inherent with large sites, identifying solutions and implementation. Specific topics include controlling faceted navigation, creating index-worthy category and sub-category pages as well as XML sitemap & internal link optimization.
• 2:45pm – 3:00pm: Afternoon Break
• 3:00pm – 4:00pm: Uncovering a Hidden Technique for SEO
  • You’re familiar with optimizing for a keyword by placing it on a page and acquiring anchor-text targeted links, but this session goes in a completely different direction. We’ll be pulling back the curtain on a new way to rank higher, and a process to do it! Led by Ben Hendrickson, SEOmoz’s Senior Scientist, this session will go heads down in the math and science of how search engines crawl, index and rank web pages.
• 4:00pm – 4:30pm: Constructing Effective SEO Audits
  • As the director of consulting at SEOmoz, Lindsay built dozens of audits for clients like Microsoft, Etsy, SimplyHired and more. In this presentation, she’ll share her methodology for delivering a site audit that clients and managers will appreciate and actually use!
• 4:30pm – 5:30pm: Conversion Rate Optimization
  • One of the web’s foremost experts in conversion rate optimization, Tim Ash will be sharing case studies and specific tips for how to make more of the visitors who click into customers.

Tuesday, August 31st

• 9:00am – 9:45am: 10 Sites the Earned Amazing Links: How they Did It & What we Can Learn
  • Sometimes, the best way to learn is through direct observation. In this session, Rand will walk through 10 sites that achieved top rankings through remarkable link acquisition strategies. He’ll explore not just where they earned links, but why those links were created and what other SEOs can take away from the success stories.
• 9:45am – 10:30am: Reverse Engineering Your Competitors’ Rankings
  • Why does that page rank above yours? Until you know the answer, you’re optimizing in the dark and potentially wasting massive amounts of time, energy and resources on metrics that won’t move the needle. In this session, Wil Reynolds, head of digital agency Thinkseer, walks through their process for strategically de-constructing the search results, determining the keys to ranking and executing on those metrics.
• 10:30am – 10:45am: Morning Break
• 10:45am – 11:30am: Manual Link Building: That’s Right; It Still Works
  • Picking up links one-by-one may not be highly scalable nor incredibly fun work, but it does work. In this session, Distilled Consulting head of US operations, Rob Ousbey, walks through the power and process of manual link building. If you’re ready to put your shoulder to the grindstone, you can have a serious impact on your business with these tactics.
• 11:30am – 11:50am: Top 10 Tips for Community Building
  • The power of user-generated-content and user engagement to build up a site’s reach, branding and SEO is phenomenal. SEOmoz CEO Rand Fishkin walks through his top tactics for attracting an engaged audience.
• 11:50am – 12:10pm: Top 10 Tips for Blogging
  • Blogs are still one of the most powerful ways to build content, draw in links, grow your branding & attract new customers. Ian Lurie, founder of Portent Interactive and Conversation Marketing has a list of unbeatable tips to maximize the value you get from blogging.
• 12:10pm – 12:30pm:Top 10 Tips for Paid Search Optimization
  • Paid search will draw in $25 billion dollars in the US alone this year – a lot of that won’t make much of an ROI. Joanna Lord wants to make sure that doesn’t happen to you. Join her as she walks through 10 amazing tips to get high value out of paid search without spending a fortune.
• 12:30pm – 1:15pm: Lunch
• 1:15pm – 2:00pm: Designing Your SEO Strategy
  • Formerly the head of technical marketing at Yahoo!, Laura Lippay’s responsibility included managing SEO across dozens of the web’s most visited sites. In this session, she shares her process from years of experience and her popular blog series on SEOmoz covering the design and execution of an SEO strategy.
• 2:00pm – 2:45pm: Advanced Keyword Selection + Targeting
  • The basics of keyword research are well known, but discovering terms and phrases that are on the verge of becoming popular, in the middle or tail of the demand curve or have cyclical demand can be a huge advantage for your website. Tom Critchlow, Head of Search for Distilled, presents killer tips on how to select the right keywords and use them in the right ways to maximize your search traffic potential.
• 2:45pm – 3:30pm: The End of Analysis Paralysis: Tracking What Matters & Ignoring the Rest
  • Too often, the overwhelming quantity of data we get from tools like Google Analytics, Omniture, Conversion Rate Tracking + Testing Software can overwhelm us. SEOmoz’s Joanna Lord is here to put an end to the overload and give striking examples of how to build an analytics dashboard that records what matters and ignores what doesn’t so you can make the right decisions about what to invest in.
• 3:30pm – 3:45pm: Ice Cream Break
• 3:45pm – 4:30pm: How to Make SEO Data Reporting Sexy
  • Ready to take your data visualization skills to the next level? Join Distilled’s Will Critchlow as he remakes the tedious process of SEO reporting on keywords, links, traffic and SERPs into something not only beautiful, but useful and ready to apply to the real world. Your clients & managers will be head over heels when they see the amazing, actionable data visualizations you present.
• 4:30pm – 5:30pm: No More Secrets: SEO Veterans Spill the Goods on Tactics that Work
  • 6 Expert Practitioners of SEO will share their most powerful & actionable tips for all things web marketing. If you’re seeking an unfair advantage over the competition, listen closely – it doesn’t come any better than this. Join Ian Lurie, Will & Tom Critchlow, Laura Lippay, Wil Reynolds & Todd Friesen for a remarkable session.
• 7:00pm – 12:00am: SEOmoz Annual Garage Party!
  • Bowling, billiards, beer and more! Don’t miss our favorite party of the year, replete with free drinks, food and entertainment.

Wednesday, September 1st (Tools Training)

• 9:30am – 10:30am: A Deep Dive Into Link Research w/ Linkscape, Open Site Explorer & Keyword Difficulty
  • These three tools comprise the most powerful resources available for advanced link exploration, algorithm reversing and competitive analysis. In this hour, Rand Fishkin shows how to apply the full spectrum of data to strategize, measure and acquire links.
• 10:30am – 10:45am: Morning Coffee Break
• 10:45am – 11:45pm: Getting the Most from the New (REDACTED UNTIL LAUNCH)
  • Obviously, I can’t provide a description without giving too much away. Needless to say, though, it will be big
• 11:45pm – 12:15pm: Adding Value to Your SEO w/ Q+A, the mozBar + SEOmoz Labs
  • Rand walks through the best practices and some hidden ways to employ PRO membership utilities from Labs, Q+A and the mozBar. There’s a lot of information and functionality to be found here and with Ran’d guidance, you’ll be able to get maximum value from these products.
• 12:15pm – 1:00pm: A Sneak Peek Into SEOmoz’s Product Roadmap & Call for Suggestions
  • Join Adam Feldstein, head of Product at SEOmoz and Rand Fishkin, CEO, for a look at the product roadmap for SEOmoz over the next 6 months. We’ll be soliciting your feedback, too, so please come ready with your ideas!

Bonus: Oilman is Our MC!

We’ve employed copious quantities of beer, cookies and B-rated action movies on DVD to compel Todd Friesen, aka Oilman, to MC the event for us. We’re honored to have Todd run the show, make sure our panelists stick to their time slots and badger anyone who tries to hold back critical information. In exchange, he’s promised to wear his pearliest white hat and make sure every attendee has a phenomenal experience.

That smile means he’s up to something… (via jenn.matthews)

Thanks Todd! We’re showing our appreciation by bolstering your follower count on Twitter.

Looking forward to seeing many of you at the PRO Seminar and showing off our big August launch too!

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