Here are the top digital marketing data and statistics that caught our eye.

How many of Facebook’s ‘likes’ are still fake? (video)

Facebook has been criticised in the past for not tackling the problem of click farms generating ‘fake likes’, and new research suggests the problem continues for the social network- even when ads are paid for via official Facebook channels. The February 2014 research, conducted by Derek Muller from science blog Veritasium, suggests the social network profits off fake likes that dilute the real audience for Facebook pages.

To test this theory, Muller created a fake Facebook page, which had never posted before and suggested that “only an idiot would like this page” in its description. He excluded countries with known click farm activity from his targeting, but still gained fans who liked hundreds of other pages and had seemingly conflicting interests.


The chart below shows the level of engagement of each cluster of fans from different regions. The blue clusters with low engagement come from areas where click farms are common,such as India or Bangladesh.

Most digital marketers expect a “single view of the customer” by 2016 (infographic)

As marketing remains rather fragmented between online, print and TV, many in the industry are expecting technology to improve their understanding of each customer, according to new research.

Bitcoin and the future of digital money (infographic)

With the rise of Bitcoin, virtual currencies are starting to be taken seriously (or at least being seen as a threat) by the financial industry. Since its launch in 2009 the value of the Bitcoin currency in circulation has risen to $10 billion. This infographic from communications agency Clarity, looks at the 6 biggest virtual currencies, and assess whether any can become the future of money as the world goes digital.
View larger image here

60% of all web traffic ‘not human’

Nearly two thirds (61.5%) of all web traffic around the world comes from bots- both good and bad- according to new research.

SEO tips for 2014: Keep content and site layout fresh

As Google implements it’s latest ‘Hummingbird’ algorithm, many site owners have noticed that long held top positions on Google are being lost to new sites. Matt Cutts, head of Google’s webspam team explains why past success on SEO does not guarantee success in this new era of search, and offers advice on retaining that vital top spot in the rankings.
Watch the full video here:

How is mobile used by the travel sector? (Infographic)

Mobile use in the travel sector is booming, with 64% of mobile owners searching for holiday sites via a mobile device compared to 58% in a desktop environment. Mobile marketing agency, Yodel Mobile, has produced infographic which details how mobile is used by consumers for the travel sector.

The incredible growth of web usage from 1984-2013 (infographic)

Back in 1984, the Internet linked just 1,000 hosts and labs- now it connects over 2 billion people around the globe. This infographic from webmaster tool whoishostingthis looks at the biggest trends that have shaped digital media in the past 3 decades.

Social search tips: Why doesn’t Google have a special index for popular Facebook and Twitter posts?

The secrets to Google’s page ranking algorthyms have always remained a tightly guarged (and ever-changing) secret. But recently, Matt Cutts of Google took to YouTube to explain how Google handles social media posts on its search rankings.
View the full video below: