With Wolfram Alpha and some of the new Google features announced at Searchology last month, the possibilities of data visualization were made more apparent to the public. But presenting data in meaningful ways has long been a goal for professionals within the Internet marketing industry. Today’s show is about data visualization, including how it can help Internet marketing professionals, as well as current applications in tools and analytics products.

One well-regarded analytics suite that utilizes data visualization in innovative ways is Enquisite. Richard Zwicky, founder and president of Enquisite, talks to Virginia about data visualization, such as map overlays that look at where site visitors are coming from and longtail keyword charts. At Enquisite, the company uses feedback from SEOs to continually improve reporting and data presentation. He explains that there has been a growth in how analytics solutions present data visually which has happened alongside a growing expectation among search professionals who use those tools.

Then Bradley, Susan and Virginia look at a few tools that present data visually and the different purposes served. Tools like Crazy Egg and Web Profiler are data interpreters, filtering sample data into a picture. Free Mind and Visio are visual thinking tools, helping with problem solving by representing data elements as icons or symbols. Other tools, like Excel or screen captures, aid in visual documentation. Communication made visible helps illustrate concepts to those who have never seen the data before. It can also reveal connections that were not previously identified.

Hosts Susan Esparza, Michael Terry and Virginia Nussey open the show with a look at some of the recent search industry news. A major spam ring, thought to have at one time produced as much as one-third of email spam, was shut down last week. While Yahoo’s revenues came in flat for the third quarter, causing the company to announce it will layoff 10 percent of its staff, Google’s revenues beat expectations. The redesign of iGoogle got mixed reviews, but the addition of a broken backlinks tool in Webmaster Tools and the upgrade to Google Analytics were well received.

Then Mike Moran, co-author of Search Engine Marketing, Inc.: Driving Search Traffic to Your Company’s Web Site, talks to Virginia about the new edition of the book and the changing online marketing space. Mike discusses many of the business aspects of implementing search marketing, such as making search marketing operational and getting buy-in. He also talks about one of the major changes in the search space that has happened since the publication of the first edition — a new opportunity for communication — social media.

Susan, Michael and Virginia discuss business strategy of search marketing. Choosing the marketing mix, having clear objectives, reporting metrics, dividing-up tasks and having a strong central team are all important to search marketing strategy.