Introduction to Search Engine Optimization and Marketing for Nonprofit Organizations

Web Wise Series: Intro to Search Engine Optimization & Marketing for Nonprofits Katie McNally, Account Supervisor - Sitewire Marketspace Solutions (KMcNally@sitewire.net) Dan Gonzalez, Web Manager - Sage Nonprofit Solutions (daniel.gonzalez@sage.com)

What we’ll cover today… Search’s role in your overall interactive marketing mix Search basics – what is organic and paid search Holistic search – how search campaigns work together High level best practices for organic optimization High level best practices for PPC management and optimization

What is “Organic Search” Organic Search is “natural search” which means it is not “paid for advertising” Organic search can be used for “Response Marketing Campaigns” One of the most cost-effective forms of online marketing Difficult and Time Consuming Great Value = Huge ROI Sitewire Marketspace Solutions, LLC

Organic Search Organic Search Results Paid Search Results Sitewire Marketspace Solutions, LLC

Search Engine Breakdown Sitewire Marketspace Solutions, LLC

Demographics Yahoo! = Younger Generation Google = Higher Spending Sitewire Marketspace Solutions, LLC

What is “Organic Search Optimization”? Organic Search Optimization The process of optimizing a website to achieve high search rankings for specific targeted keywords Google uses over 120 factors in their ranking algorithm Sitewire Marketspace Solutions, LLC

Ranking Positions 1 2 3 Sitewire Marketspace Solutions, LLC

Organic Search Myths Myths You can just pay Google/Yahoo/MSN to be number 1 organic listing “I know a guy that says he can guarantee me number 1 position” It’s easy to get the top organic position You can just optimize once and forget it Sitewire Marketspace Solutions, LLC

2 Methods of Optimization On-site Optimization These are changes you can make to the target website to optimize it for strategically selected keyword phrases Off-site Optimization This is the optimization work (link passing) that you can do to affect the rankings for a small group of strategically selected keyword phrases Sitewire Marketspace Solutions, LLC

Example: Off-Site Optimization

Optimization Process Initial Optimization Obstacles Analysis Keyword Research Keyword Selection Organic Optimization Plan On-site Implementation Off-site Optimization Ongoing cycle (see right) Ongoing Optimization Sitewire Marketspace Solutions, LLC

Obstacles Analysis Use CSS Clean Code is Important Build it Scalable, regardless of what code you use: HTML/XHTML PHP ASP ASPX Meaningful Page Names Intuitive Directory Structure Alt-tags XML and Traditional Sitemap Utilize Text Based Navigation (when possible) Sitewire Marketspace Solutions, LLC

Keyword Research and Selection Find all relevant keywords Keywords that you think someone would type in as a search when looking for your business/service/product Utilize keyword research tools to define search volume Sitewire Marketspace Solutions, LLC

Organic Optimization Plan Methods to eliminate obstacles Examples: If flash, then utilize more standard HTML coding and text content on the page, rather than flash If doorway entry page, simply remove this page and have a full index.html page resolve If utilizing on-page javascript, simply use external .js files If “hidden” white text over white background Sitewire Marketspace Solutions, LLC

Organic Optimization Plan On-site Keyword Optimization Primary Importance: One or Two keywords per page focus 300+ words per page Keyword Density 3-5% Page Titles Descriptive page title including the keyword phrase Page Content Multiple repetition of the keyword phrase A lot of content Bulleted lists Navigation Text based navigation, not images Create XML and Normal Sitemap Sitewire Marketspace Solutions, LLC

Organic Optimization Plan Off-site Website Optimization Primary Importance Google PageRank Google’s measure of the importance of a website Links pointing to your website Number and Quality Keywords in links Must be relevant Type of site linking to your website Sitewire Marketspace Solutions, LLC

Organic Optimization Plan Off-site Website Optimization Good sites to consider: Facebook Twitter Blogs Forums LinkedIn Wikipedia (although no-follows now) DMOZ.org Infinite list of others, just find ones that make sense for the your industry Sitewire Marketspace Solutions, LLC

Ongoing Optimization Process Sitewire Marketspace Solutions, LLC

Measure Results Use Analytics to determine total organic traffic Use a keyword ranking tool (or search by hand) to determine ranking position for each optimized keyword Keep track of all data to compare against future months Sitewire Marketspace Solutions, LLC

Measure Results Google Analytics Trend Data Sitewire Marketspace Solutions, LLC

Measure Results and Determine Strategy Find out what needs to be improved with optimization for these two keywords. Sitewire Marketspace Solutions, LLC

Implement Adjustments For those two keywords: Example Problems: Title did not contain keyword Too many keywords on the page Someone had removed 2 paragraphs of copy from the page Example Adjustments: Correct title to include keyword Remove keyword from the page Add back in enough relevant copy to compensate Sitewire Marketspace Solutions, LLC

Resubmit Resubmit the page to Google, Yahoo! and Bing *(if necessary, depending on indexing) http:// www.google.com/addurl/?continue =/ addurl http:// siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com /submit http:// www.bing.com/docs/submit.aspx Sitewire Marketspace Solutions, LLC

Aided brand recall increases by 2.2x when a brand is in the top sponsored and top organic results Question: Which of the following automotive brands do you remember seeing in the search results page you just viewed? Side Sponsored Top Sponsored Top Sponsored & Top Organic Top Organic Listing Honda Other 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% Query: Unbranded (i.e., “fuel efficient cars”) Holistic Search: Builds Brand 9/25/2009 **Data is from a Google conducted study 2.2x 1.5x x

What is “Paid Search Advertising”? Paid Search Advertising The process of running advertisements that show for particular keyword searches Objective is to get qualified visitors to your website to take an action Actions can be: Completing a lead form Completing a sale Registering for something Reading something Anything other key metrics for success on a site Sitewire Marketspace Solutions, LLC

Paid Search Organic Search Results Paid Search Results Sitewire Marketspace Solutions, LLC

Ad Positions 1 2 3 4 5 Sitewire Marketspace Solutions, LLC

How do I get to the best results? Strategy – set a goal and measure against it Campaign Management – need to do this every day Myths You can just pay Google/Yahoo/MSN to be number 1 paid search listing PPC is easy I will be great at this right from the start Sitewire Marketspace Solutions, LLC

Paid Search Process Initial Setup Site Conversion Analysis Setup A/B Testing Define Targeting Keyword Research Keyword Selection Keyword Match Types Write Ads Set Initial Bids Set Daily Budget Setup Conversion Tracking Launch Campaign Ongoing Management Sitewire Marketspace Solutions, LLC

Site Conversion Analysis Perform an analysis on website to determine if it is conversion friendly Ask yourself: Is the site easy on the eye? Does it follow a simple visual flow? Does it resonate with the potential donor? Is there a compelling call-to-action on the website? (a reason for someone to take action on the website) Sitewire Marketspace Solutions, LLC

A/B Testing B A Sitewire Marketspace Solutions, LLC

Multivariate Testing A B C D B D A C Sitewire Marketspace Solutions, LLC

A/B & Multivariate Testing Google Optimizer Free and Easy to Setup Sitewire Marketspace Solutions, LLC

Geo Targeting The whole world? US Only? State Only? Metro Only? City Only? A particular zip code? Sitewire Marketspace Solutions, LLC

Keyword Research and Selection Pick all relevant keywords at this stage, you can pause, delete and bid down any keywords later Sitewire Marketspace Solutions, LLC

Best Practices for Ad Copy Ad Writing Tips Accurate Compelling Informative Match keywords Qualify visitors No excessive punctuation Write multiple ads to test against each other SUBWAY® Phoenix $5 FRESH VALUE MEALS 6" sandwich + chips + drink. www.subwayfreshbuzz.com Verizon Wireless™ Phones Official Site - Cell Phones up to 50% off. Only at Verizon Wireless! VerizonWireless.com Sitewire Marketspace Solutions, LLC

Set Daily Budget Daily Budget is the maximum amount you are willing to spend It does not mean you WILL spend this, rather that this is the maximum amount you could spend The amount you spend each day will vary on the number of people searching, and the number of clicks you get You can change this budget anytime Sitewire Marketspace Solutions, LLC

Set Initial Bids and Bid Strategy Bids should be high enough to show on the first page - almost no one clicks on an ad on the second page You’ll need to have a good ad, that is relevant to the keyword, and gets clicks to get a high position – even if you bid a lot Day part bidding turn ads on or off, and increase and decrease budget during times of the day This is useful for certain companies. For example: A company is only open during the day A company has a call center that only answers during the day A company knows that most people order their products between 6am and 10am Sitewire Marketspace Solutions, LLC

Setup Conversion Tracking Example: To track this, you would put a little snippet of code on the “thank you” page that confirms an action has taken place This code will track which keyword led to the sale from your ad campaign This is critical to allow management of budget = shift more budget towards keywords that convert better, thus lowering cost per sale Sitewire Marketspace Solutions, LLC

Ongoing PPC Management Process Sitewire Marketspace Solutions, LLC

Measure Results Sitewire Marketspace Solutions, LLC

Search within the Online Marketing Mix

Q&A Katie McNally, Account Supervisor - Sitewire Marketspace Solutions (KMcNally@sitewire.net) Dan Gonzalez, Web Manager - Sage Nonprofit Solutions (daniel.gonzalez@sage.com) Join us for our next webcast in the Web Wise Series: How to Leverage Social Media to Raise Funds Sitewire Marketspace Solutions, LLC

Introduction to Search Engine Optimization and Marketing for Nonprofit Organizations

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