Drive Traffic to Your Website: Budget Friendly Tips, Tools and Techniques
- 1. DRIVE TRAFFIC TO YOUR WEBSITE ...with a nod to Google’s Hummingbird update. And a few pointers on how to get them to convert once they’re there.
- 2. DEAR TECHNOPHOBES: I’VE GOT GOOD NEWS
- 3. IT’S STILL BUSINESS AS USUAL
- 4. YES, OFF-LINE WORKS TOO ALL ROADS LEAD TO YOUR WEBSITE
- 5. CONNECTING WITH HUMANS IS STILL THE PRIORITY
- 6. EVEN GOOGLE IS WORKING HARD TO MAKE THAT A REALITY
- 7. KEYWORDS: DIGITAL DNA keywords + relevance + Imagine what people use to search Be specific; use 2-3 word phrases location + personalization + inbound links = Rank 200+ parameters .com .org Keyword Planner google.com/adwords youtube.com/keyword_tool
- 8. HUMMINGBIRD • • • Pages matching meaning do better than pages matching a few words. More about “answers” than “results” -- how, why, where, when in search phrases matter Search via mobile and voice is being taken into account. • Google Analytics not showing keyword results anymore. • Breadth of websites measured by number of pages receiving organic referrals. • Niche websites should be able to gain a higher page ranking Sources: The Telegraph, Search Engine Land
- 9. KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE Be where your potential customers are Say things they care about to attract & engage
- 10. HELP SEARCH ENGINES FIND YOUR SITE SEO On-site Visibility SEM Off-site
- 11. SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION Make it easier for people to find you when they search X Blockbeta Marketing psychographics by zip code
- 12. SEO: ON-SITE Visible to Humans Visible to Search Engines
- 15. 1. Clearly ID your USP and become an authority 2. Provide answers to questions people are really seeking through search; will reduce bounce rate 3. Create quality, engaging, shareable, linkable information on different entry pages 4. Content needs to be shared across social networks through influencers 5. Mobilize your site
- 16. ON-SITE: BACK DESCRIPTION META TAG No effect on the ranking of your site in search engines It is displayed in SERP; more likely to be clicked Do not spam full of keywords; will have a negative effect
- 17. CHECKLIST Where Frequency & Relevance URLs Repeat keywords 2-3x’s, but don’t “stuff ” Meta title (each page) Natural language Meta description (ea pg) Text, not graphic Page headers (H1, H2’s) Intro paragraph Different forms: ing, s, ed, etc. Image alt and title tags Short, attractive: like newspaper headlines Link text Place forms, tables and java script near bottom
- 18. ALT TAGS FOR IMAGES WHY? • Text-only browsers • Accessible browsers • Mobile browsers • Search engine image search “Building on the water” <img src="building.gif" alt="Building on the water">
- 19. SEM: OFF-SITE regi stra tion adver tis ing link juice l media socia
- 20. SEM: STEP 1 REGISTRATION Submit URL to search engines Cover 90% of searches www.google.com/ submityourcontent/website-owner/ www.bing.com/webmaster/ SubmitSitePage.aspx/ search.yahoo.com/info/submit.html Network Channel Media Business cards Email signature Print materials Etc.
- 21. SEM: STEP 2 Webmaster Tools google.com/webmasters
- 22. CREATE A SITEMAP • Tells Google about pages on your site • Sitemap protocol: same file can be submitted to other search engines • Verify on Webmaster Tools http://code.google.com/p/sitemap-generators/wiki/SitemapGenerators
- 23. SEM: STEP 3 20% OF SEARCHES ON GOOGLE ARE RELATED TO LOCATION www.google.com/places/ aka Google+ Local Hide your address if you don’t want to show your location
- 24. SEARCH ADVERTISING: PPC It’s getting harder to rank organically Paid sea rch traffic re sults in h igher conver s io ecomme n to rce sites
- 25. CONTEXTUAL & BEHAVIORAL • Ads placed based on keywords/content of a webpage or by channel • Behavioral targeting: actions, visits, frequency determine ads to serve • Buy search by ZIP code (Google)
- 26. SEARCH ADVERTISING: COSTS 1 Get Estimated Keyword Costs 2 Set Your Limit: Daily Max CPC 3 Pay for Results
- 27. LANDING PAGES One Call to Action, Not Part of Main Navigation Link from ads, SM, etc. Connect keywords, ads, landing page copy and your business Build your own or use something like:
- 28. ANSWER QUESTIONS • Follow Yahoo! Answers, LinkedIn Answers, Quora, etc. to figure out unanswered questions • Create a page that answers that question • Every time it comes up, send people to that page
- 29. A B C D G H Your Website E F Get found from related sites Get known in your industry: “halo effect” Backlinks: a primary driver of rankings Search engines “informed” by social data LINK JUICE (BACKLINKS)
- 30. LINKBAIT AKA CONTENT • Content on your website that other websites want to link to... • ...and people want to share • Regularly publish fresh and interesting content; useful, interesting, opinionated... • ...blog posts, articles, resource pages, tools, widgets, polls, surveys, contests, podcasts, white papers, eBooks, images, infographics, audio/video • Make it easy to share with buttons and links
- 31. DIRECTORIES General: DMOZ.org Specific: Pet directories Source: www.wordsinarow.com/ wheretogo.html
- 32. THE SOCIAL CONNECTION Choose the Right Places for Links Create Content by Being Social Search Engines Find It (spiders and bots, oh my) Attract, engage, share • Listings from social connections are often given higher importance • Specific to the person searching • Google incorporates Google+ social data and user profiles in SERPs • Requires individual to connect Google account to social account
- 33. FIND LINK OPPORTUNITIES Do a search using keywords Related Sites Link with “referrers” from analytics Competitors’ sites, industry associations, neighborhood groups, directories, online publications, online groups (i.e., Google Groups, vendor sites, social sites)
- 34. SITE SWAG Q&A Review Comment on a Blog Press Release Join Group Add Event
- 35. NOW THAT THEY’RE HERE, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH THEM?
- 36. GENERATE LEADS Goal Motivation Compel Convince (low-high involvement) Discounts Set expectation Timely info: events, news Communicate Benefits Provide an incentive: FB Like Newsletter Signup Email Contact Bid Request Call Specific questions Want to keep up with you, engage Downloads: apps, tips, papers Free estimates Access to... Your time
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- 38. WHY PEOPLE CONVERT • USP • • Differentiators: shop like your customer Frictionless shopping experience • They can buy the way they want to: view, select, quantity and pay • Merchandising • Trust, clear returns policy, reassurance logos • Likability • Value adds: green Average Conversion Rates
- 39. IDENTIFY YOUR WEAKNESSES Weak Links Investigative Tools Qualified prospects? Homepage Product pages Checkout pages “Order Confirmation” page Phone/selling skills etc. Analytics and ecomm reporting A/B testing Live usability tests Customer surveys Live Chat (what non-buyers have to say)
- 40. WEBSITE REC’S 1. Proper ecommerce software 2. Test products versions and packaging 3. Test payment options: onemonth free trial, buy one/ get one free, installments, etc. 4. Include content that increases conversion; remove content that doesn’t 5. Test product images (what affects conversion): product being used -- even better, perceived role model; result of using product; happy customers holding product 6. Captions, call-outs, testimonials, zoom
- 41. THANKS FOR YOUR TIME A Big Picture Approach to Small Business™ Like Us: facebook.com/blockbeta Tweet me: @robbinblock 206-335-5929 info@blockbeta.com blockbeta.com reality radio for entrepreneurs mybmedia.com © copyright Block Media LLC 2007 - 2013 Trademarks and images are all owned by their respective owners.
- 42. LEARN MORE ABOUT SEARCH ENGINES Google.com/insidesearch/ Blockbeta.com/guides SearchEngineWatch.com SearchEngineLand.com Test your site with PluginSEO.com