Here are the top ten columns from The SEM Post columnists in the second half of 2014.

Note: this doesn’t include posts from our State of the Industry column which is featured here.

10. How to Find Hidden Data in Your Google AdWords Account by Shelley Ellis

There is a lot more data in your AdWords account than many PPC’ers know what to do with.  Shelley dives into some of the extra data you probably never look at – or look for – and how you can leverage it in your AdWords account.

9. Why You Should Care About PageRank by Dave Davies

While PageRank as it existed 15 years ago is different from today’s PageRank, Dave reveals why you really should care about it, despite many proclaiming “PageRank is dead”.

8. 5 Free Authorship-Related Tools for Author Discovery and Audit by Ann Smarty

Looking to discover new authors in your niche?  Or finding which authors are the most popular?  Ann reveals 5 free authorship tools to discover and rate different authors in any industry.

7. Why Google Hates Zombie Sub-Domains by Ross Dunn

If you are using subdomains on your website, Ross looks into why Google hates the practice of subdomains that really have no value – especially those utilizing a DNS wildcard structure – and what you should do to fix and prevent it.

6. Quality Score: 7 New Things You Don’t Have to Worry About by Andrew Goodman

The AdWords quality score is still mysterious to many paid advertising marketers.  Andrew breaks down what things you no longer need to worry about affecting your AdWords quality score.

5. Women in Search with Over 15 Years of Experiences by Motoko Hunt

Motoko spent several months interviewing women who have been in the industry for at least 15 years to learn what makes them so successful with plenty of advice for women entering the industry today.

4. Ultimate List of Must-Have Tools for Your SEO Toolkit by Dave Davies

Not sure which tools are worth buying and which free tools are worth using?  Dave breaks down his favorite paid and free tools and why you really should have them in your own SEO Toolkit.

3. Are You Making These Costly Retargeting Mistakes? by Susan Waldes

Retargeting can definitely have a learning curve when you are trying it for the first time.  Here are the most costly retargeting mistakes and how you fix them.

2. 5 Google Plus Posting Tricks You Probably Didn’t Know by Ann Smarty

In Ann’s most recent column at The SEM Post, she reveals some great posting tricks for Google+ to make life easier for search marketers, including how to tag people when posting from apps such as Hootsuite, and how to control the hashtag that appears on the top right corner of a Google+ post.

1. Top 10 YouTube Video SEO Tips by Greg Jarboe

Everyone wants to learn how to optimize their YouTube videos for SEO, here is video marketing expert Greg Jarboe’s own top ten list for video SEO.

Honorable Mentions

There are a few more articles that were just edged out on the top 10 list that are worth highlighting.

3 Google Webmaster Tools for Implementing Structured Data by Samuel Edwards

The Evolution of Google AdWords Agency Reps by Shelley Ellis

7 Things You Didn’t Know You Could Do With Google+ Settings by Ann Smarty